


Stiles + the Big Bad Sourwolf

by PretendImNotHere



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Claudia Stilinski's Death, Consensual Sex, Edgeplay, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Female Stiles Stilinski, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Government Experimentation, Knotting, Loss of Virginity, Mating Bites, Mentions of Cancer, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phone Sex, Rough Sex, Scenting, Slow Build, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Smut, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-04-28 07:08:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 68,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14444034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PretendImNotHere/pseuds/PretendImNotHere
Summary: Derek's life has been anything but normal - practically sprung from the pages of a science fiction novel, he spent much of his childhood and teenage years being poked, prodded and experimented on until he was barely left with any part of himself that he still considered human. And that's just for starters - but normal is all he wants in life.After a lifetime of traumatic events, Derek now finds him self in quite Beacon Hills where he runs a small bookshop and keeps to himself. He likes how everyone in town seems to give him his space and just let him exist in solitude.Everyone except Stiles, a pretty, young  girl with short buzzed hair that runs in complete contrast to her big never stops talking mouth. Stiles didn't seem to get the memo about giving him a wide birth, and Derek is having a hard time trying to figure out if that makes him angry or if the way he responds to her antics is an altogether different kind of frustration.





	1. Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work of fiction is an alternative universe wherein werewolves exist but not due to supernatural phenomenons but because of government experimentation on people.
> 
> Stiles is a girl. Several of the TW characters got a gender change to suit the needs of my flawed mind. 
> 
> Not all of the main characters made it into this work of fiction but I tried to add some ‘Easter eggs’ where I add some names and places randomly.
> 
> This was originally just going to be a one-shot that has been haunting my mind for weeks but once I started writing it down I realized part of why I’m so obsessed was this weird backstory I had created. It was supposed to be just a chapter for each back story and then the sexy time but like most situations, the characters are in charge here not me. 
> 
> I’m just along for the ride. 
> 
> Please forgive any discrepancies as this is not cannon but just for fun :)

Beacon Hills wasnt exactly a mecca for, well, anything. But that was the point. It was a small town where small things happened. People were born here, lived here and died here all without accomplishing anything truly noteworthy. Still it was a nice place to settle in, especially if your goal was to embrace the quite beauty of this small town.

That was precisely Derek's goal when he had stumbled into this small California haven. He wanted to blend in and disappear from his past. He had spent the better part of five years searching for some place just like this, someplace no one would ever actively search out or even consider looking for. 

He purchased a ruin of a house, that was far too big for himself alone, purely on the basis of its location. It was tucked deep into a densely wooded area of Beacon Hills where that was both picturesque and offered him the privacy he needed and desired. He was well along in fixing it up, since he didn't socialize - at all - he spent any free time he had working on restoring the house to its former glory.

And what time he wasn't working on his house, he was working at Beacon Hills' only bookstore. His bookstore. He had spent the first year in this small town working for the older man at Secondhand Stories, doing general grunt work that the owner couldn't do anymore with a hunched back and a cane in one hand.

One of the things Derek appreciated most about Mr. Peters was that he generally just left Derek to his own devices. He didn't seem to care if Derek went over his lunch break because he got lost reading a book about science or government policies, as long as Derek logged, priced and shelved the daily shipments. He was a man of few words, as is Derek so they got through most of their days together in total silence with the exception pages rustling and the sounds of books being stacked and wedged betwen other books on old wooden shelves. 

The day the older man died really came as no suprise to Derek; he could practically smell it in thr air the day before.

"I'm leaving for the day, Mr. Peters." Tugging his leather jacket on, the sound of the leather flexing and rubbing made an unpleasantly loud sound in the quite of the store.

Mr. Peters only grunted in response as he turned old yellowed pages of a classic Poe first edition. His breathing had taken on a whistle on the intake recently and he barely moved from his chair anymore, but he hadn't missed a single day of work in the year that Derek had worked for him.

Derek was torn, for the first time unsure if he should leave Mr. Peter's alone to close up the store. Tonight something was not right, yet in that moment Derek wasn't exactly sure why. He took one last look at Mr. Peters, who had clearly dismissed him and was already lost somewhere in the dark places of Poe's mind, and turned to leave.

Mr. Peters grunted again, stilling Derek and causing a second glance at the older man. Without looking up from his book he was holding up a white sealed envelope with Derek’s name scrawled across the front in very shakey handwritting.

"Your check."

That was the last conversation - if you could even classify it as such - that he ever had with Mr. Peters. The bookstore was always closed on Sunday's so when Derek went to open the store on Monday the smell hit him before he even unlocked the door. Really he should be prepared for this. He had been witness and accomplice in many events in his past that would make most seasoned men whither but for survival's sake he had to burry the part of himself that could feel such things as sadness and loss. 

Perhapse that was the reason he felt shocked and sickened by the cold stab in his gut when he found Mr. Peters in the exact spot he had left him on Saturday evening, the classic Poe edition laying face down with many of its pages curled and bent in unnatural ways from its fall to the floor. 

His body was conditioned to see death and gloss over it, move on, but that was clearly easier to do with people you don't rub shoulder to shoulder with, someone you may even kind of respect. It hurt so much more than he even wanted to admit to himself and he never wanted to feel that kind of cold ache again.

His wish was ignored when he felt it for the second time a few days later when he noticed and opened his forgotten paycheck. It was more than just his usual payment, the sum a great deal more than usual, plus a letter in the same shaky and barely discernsble handwriting that matched the outside envelope.

 

Derek, 

It's not easy for me to find words to express myself - though I surround myself with so many who use words like surgeons use scalpels - but I hope our time together meant as much to you as it did to me. Did I ever tell you how Secondhand Stories came to be? I don't think I did.

When my wife passed I needed to escape my daily pain, the constant reminder she was gone forever. Which lead me to reading and the need for more and more books lead to this store. I've spent the better part of two decades running this store with my neice by my side, and when she was murdered two years ago I thought about closing the store for good. What was once an escape from my pain from loosing my wife was now my constant reminder of having my neice taken from me.

But she loved it so much, I couldn't bring myself to do it. When you came I knew I needed help to keep the store going but I didn't have anything left in me to share, so you were stuck with a man who forgot how to laugh and how to show appreciation for little things in life. Though, you never seemed to mind the silences, you were clearly working through your own sort of pains. 

If you had shown up on my doorstep just two years ago, I was still a man devistated but I wasn't the hollow broken man you met. I would have encouraged you to do many things with your life. You're around the same age as my neice was when she died. It makes me feel as if I could have been, should have been more of an uncle to you. But that's another regret on a long list all its own. 

The point of this letter is not to lement all the things I should have done, but to give you something: Secondhand Stories. I want you to continue running it, it is yours now. My estate lawyer will contact you soon to finalize paperwork. But I don't want you to hermit yourself away like I did. Find friends, find love. Forgive yourself for whatever it is that haunts you still. 

Take care dear boy,

Mr. Peters

 

Derek cried for the first time since he was ten years old, really and truly cried. He wept for thr man he worked for who died alone, for the man in this letter that died well before of a broken heart that Derek never got to know. He cried for the gracious gift he would never be able to repay. 

And he cried for the dead man's last wish that he knew he could never fulfill. He was a man sentenced to a life of solitude, even amongst the people in this town. He understood it was the way it had to be, even still he allow himself this small moment to mourn the possibilities of love and a "normal life" before he boxed it all away and stored it in the dark recesses of his mind where he kept all the other parts of his life that weren't strictly related to hus survival. 

And survive he would.


	2. Stiles

"Stiles, it's time to get up!" Her father had that ability to shake her from a dead sleep from the bottom of the stairs when he wanted to. Other times, most if the time, he was even keeled and soft spoken. 

As sheriff of Beacon Hills, her father didn't really need to be loud or demanding. But it wasn't just because he had the back of the entire police force that had people sitting up straight to listen to what he had to say; he just had that way about him. People recognized he was a man to be respected. 

The sheriff was more serious since her mom passed from cancer when she was little; she remembered the way he used to laugh all the time, for very little reason at all. Except. A very big reason was her mother; she was the sunshine in both of their lives and it still made Stiles ache to think how that hole would never be filled ever again.

"I swear to God, Stiles, if you are late for school I will flush your car keys down the toilet."

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Jolting to life with the prospect of loosing her powder blue baby - because while her dad was mostly level headed, he was also a man of his word, especially when he threatened to do something as a consequence of Stiles not doing something.

Long limbs flailing she found herself tangled in the sheets and falling face first on the floor in a nearly impossible position with arms trapped at her sides and one knee free while the other was bent up towards her chest.

"Hell. Shit. Why is this my life?" She wiggled and squirmed until she freed one arm and then another and finally was able to unlock her legs from their cotton prison. Once she was on her feet she could feel her cheek starting to throb from the force of her fall. 

She ran for the bathroom, needing to see the extent of the damage and in her haste she slid on the stupid runner in the hallway that she nearly killed herself on everyday. Her shoulder bumped into the wall before finally shouldering her way into the bathroom and flicking on the vanity light.

"Oh holy hell. I look like I've been in a bad fight," Stiles sighed heavily as she looked at the purplish bruise already starting to form under the skin of her sharp cheekbone. "And it looks like I lost!"

She rolled her eyes and turned in the small bathroom to reach for the shower knob, turning it all the way to hot before closing the door and undressing from her night shorts and tank top. Her mind was already wandering through the day's coming events at school - what tests she would be taking this week, what assignments were due before the end of classs today - her mind so much elsewhere that when she stepped into the shower,she hissed as the hot water scorched her naked skin.

"Fuck me!" She quickly turned the knob down to lessen the water intensity.

"Language Stiles!"

She huffed under her breath and yelled back, "I'm in the shower, Dad, what did we talk about privacy when I'm in the shower? We cannot have conversations while I'm naked! I just can't do it! It just-"

"Hell Stiles! Just stop! Okay?"

"Dad?"

"Yes, Stiles."

"Language." She grinned to herself when she heard a softer swear coming from the bottom of the stairs. 

She ducked her head under the warm water and wet her short buzzed hair, letting the water slosh over her face. The first time she buzzed her hair it was when her mom started chemo and lost all of her own hair, it was a sort of act of solidarity, though at nine years old her mom wasn't exactly thrilled to walk into the bathroom to find her only daughter with buzzing trimmers in hand and a nearly naked patch of skin down the center of her head. There was no way to hide it or try to blend it in, so her mom just crumbled into a fit of laughter and then helped her finish.

After her mom died, she kept doing it every year on the anniversary of her death, a physical reminder of one of Stiles most vivid and favorite memories of her mother. When she turned thirteen and started blossoming into womanhood, the hollow ache of her mother's absence felt just as big as the day she died. How was she going to navigate all of this with just her dad? While nice enough, he had no idea what it was like to become a woman - boobs, periods, zits, and boys; it all felt like too much to handle on her own.

So she kept her head shaved close as a way to feel close to her mom, to feel like they were still together and maybe she was trying to help her in some way or another. Stiles knew it worried her dad, like he isn't teaching her how to be girlie enoug but try as she might she can't figure out how to tell him it has nothing to do with being feminine or not. It has everything to do with being scared and lonely and missing her mom. 

That, the missing her mom, is the part she can't really tell her dad because she doesn't him to think he isn't enough, because she's so grateful to have him in her life. He's all she's got left! But it still hurts and she can think of a lot worse ways to express self inflicted pain.

After she's finished washing, which takes way less time with nearly no hair, she gets out of the shower and wraps a towel around herself while she finishes her morning routine. She can't help but take an extra moment to look and lightly prod at the bruise on her cheekbone which causes her to flinch in response.

"Damn." It looked worse now than before she got into the shower and she decided today might be a light makeup kind of day to hopefully distract from the damage she'd done. 

Even with short hair she felt pretty, not gorgeous or celebrity status pretty, but in her own way she thought she was pretty cute. Her face was lean, like the rest of her body, her cheekbones and jawline sharp. Her nose was narrow and tipped up just ever so slightly at the end. She was always teased growing up that she had a big mouth but her lips were average size and naturally pink. Her face was sprinkled with dark moles and freckles that she felt added character and made her unique. Her eyes were large and dark brown but in the right light often looked amber-like, haloed in thick lashes and full eyebrows. 

Her neck was long and slender marked only by more freckles that peppered themselves all over her body. She had been told she had a dancer's body with her long legs, slender waist and average - but not unfortunate - sized breasts. This of course, was before they saw Sitles trip over nothing at all and just when she had righted herself, she tripped again. Clearly she would not have a graceful career in dancing.

"Stiles, I have your keys in my hand. If you aren't down here in 5 minutes I'm going to flush - what the hell happened to your face?"

Stiles skid to a stop in front of her father with her hand out for the keys to her Jeep. She wore her favorite lace up keds, denim shorts with a flannel shirt tied around her waist and a green tee shirt with a faded image of a superhero on the front.

Her face fell when she registered his question, "Is it that bad? I thought I covered it pretty well." Lightly touching the area, not wanting to smear any of her makeup.

"Uh, yeah, it's not that bad. Just, what happened?" Her dad stood there with her keys still dangling in the air between them, frozen in the moment.

"Just me being clumsy, fell out of bed."

Her father tried to stifle a sigh as he looked heavenward, "What am I supposed to do with her?"

Stiles grinned as she reached forward, pecked her dad on the cheek and grabbed her keys. "Sorry dad, you're stuck with me."

Her dad grinned at her affectionately, "I think I can deal with it." He suddenly got a pensive look on his face.

"What? I didn't do it! I swear I was in my room all night?"

"Christ, Stiles, do you realize when you ramble like that you make yourself sound guilty even if your not?" Stiles just shrugged sheepishly and her dad sighed again, "I know this is your senior year and your seventeen now, with that comes freedoms and - urges-"

"God dad! No! We are not having a sex talk right before I have to go!" She was waving her hands in front of her as if trying to bat the words away from her.

"Stiles, I'm not trying to have that - you know - talk. I'm just saying, I'm an old man, try not to kill me by being rebellious and causing senior antics or you know."

Stiles really didn't know, but she nodded so that this conversation would end as soon as possible.

"Ok that's the end of my speech?" He didn't sound so sure about that. "Just be good, have a good day and be good."

"You said that already. Did you get some kind of premonition that I'm going to join a street gang or something? I think I'd do pretty well as arm candy for a street gang. I have a leather jacket that looks really good on me, I think I still have it anyway-"

Sheriff Noah Stillinski pinched the bridge of his nose, no doubt trying to keep up with the run away train that is Stiles brain and getting a headache for his efforts. "Never mind, forget I said anything." He forced a bright smile at her, one he used when he was frustrated with her but trying to be patient. "Don't forget your medicine and have a good day. I have to work the midnight shift so I'll see you in the morning. Make sure you get your homework done before you watch tv or play your games."

"Love you too dad."

-*-*-

"What the hell happened to your face?" Scott was technically her best friend, been best friends since childhood, right down to those embarrassing photos as toddlers in the bathtub together wearing bubbles on their heads like crowns. So technically he was her best friend, though at the moment she was seriously considering other options.

"Shut up, Scott." She turned the dial on her locker as quickly as she could, knowing she had mear minutes before the tardy bell would ring for first period. She could feel Scott staring at her cheek and she had to restart the dial twice. 

"Back up Scott you're distracting me and I'm going to be late." She reached out to shove him back just as he reaches forward to poke at her cheek, thus poking her in the eye instead. "Ow, fuck!" She jumped back and pressed fingers to the injury.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Scott's laughter made Stiles doubt that he was all that sorry. "What happened to your face?"

Facing him with one hand covering her sore eye and the other on her hip she gave him a deadpan stare, "It just got poked in the eye by an asshole, that's what."

Scott rolled his eye and sighed like she was the one being difficult here. "Stiles."

She just waved him off and went back to trying to open her locker, "Oh it's nothing, Lyam was just getting a little aggressive last night and didn't realize that I was getting rug burn on my face while he went to town on -"

"Who went to town on someone?"

Stiles whipped around dropping the books she'd been gathering and nearly falling backwards into her locker as Lyam sauntered up to them. "Holy shit," she quickly cast a glance at Scott who was looking a combination of embarrassed for her and completely amused. "I um," Stiles stammered as she tried to right herself, bending down to pick up her spilled books with Lyam's help. Their fingers grazed as he placed a book in her hand and she bolted upright like she'd been shocked.

"Thanks, um, I just meant my dad," her stomach turned a little and she could practically hear Scott's grimace as she attached her father to the dirty story she was just telling. "He, um, was chasing down this bad guy and he wouldn't stop running. My dad hates to run if he doesn't have to, because who really likes running, am I right?"

Her attempt at humor fell flat as she looked up at Lyam's beautiful face and saw comple and utter boredom. He was already looking around for someone else to talk to when he saw his fellow Lacrosse members huddled together down the hall and was already walking away as he said, "Catch ya later, Stillinski."

Stiles felt herself deflate as she clutched her books to her chest and watched Lyam Martin, her long time crush walk away. Just watching him interact with his friends, the way he smiled, it was like watching a slo-motion film. Stunning.

"You are probably the nastiest girl I've ever met." Scott broke her out of her fantasy stupor and she saw him leaning up against the lockers next to hers. 

Tardy bell rang and everyone started scrambling for their first periods.

"I have a healthy libido, there is nothing nasty about that. Most girls are just too timid to say so." She her locker door and grabbed her backpack off the floor.

"Healthy libido my ass. It's one thing to want sex, but who makes up a story about being shoved face first into the ground so bad you get a bruise? If I made up that story, you'd call me a a sexist pig."

"That really depends, Scott."

"On what?"

"If you're the one face first on the ground getting the bruise, then I have no issues at all." She grinned when his face soured at the image.

"Yeah, that's not for me." 

"I always say, 'don't knock it until you've tried it'."

"You don't say that, and you've never tried anything."

"Well it's my new motto for my senior year. I'm going to try all sorts of things because I'm tired of being too scared and too timid."

"Why do I get the feeling something not great is about to happen?"

"Maybe you're reading the same premonition papers as my dad, he basically asked me the same question."

"Well shit."


	3. Derek

Working in a bookstore is mostly quite, people tend to enter and treat a bookstore the way they would a library. There are hushed tones and rustling pages only with the added smells of fresh brewed coffee. Derek loved when the bookstore was just like that, and he found himself spending more time at the bookstore than working on his house. It was still coming along, but he didn't mind that it was taking a little longer than he expected while he had moments like these. 

It had been a busy Monday, several customers buying books and leaving throughout the day, but still an overall a calm day. However, around three thirty that changed. When the little tinkle of the over-the-door bell rang, Derek looked up to see a striking girl and a boy her age walking in.

Even though the girl's hair was cropped far closer than Derek's own hair, that surprisingly didn't seem to take away from how pretty she was, if nothing else it perhaps added to it becaaue there was no hiding behind hair for her. She was either pretty oe she was't - and she definetly was in Derek's oppinion.

"I am telling you, that Jackie Whittmore is a total bitch who is going to get hers someday." She was just as loud as she was beautiful and Derek couldn't help but find himself getting annoyed. Both by noticing (more than once) and that she was clearly not concerned by the library-silence that was happening here.

Derek couldn't help the grumble that came from his side of the counter, because teenagers were obnoxious.

She looked at him then with wide brown eyes and a shocked expression. When she brought her hand to her mouth he could see her blue nail polish was chipped. "Sorry," she realized she was still talking to loud but repeated herself in a whisper the second time. "Sorry, bad day at school, just lamenting to my friend here. Didn't mean to disturb."

Derek just rolled his eyes and went back to cataloging the newest arrival of books behind the counter.

"Hey is that book on wolves?" Clearly she had forgotten all about her previous apology for being loud because she was back to her original volume. Her long legs made quick work of the distance between the entryway and the counter where he now stood.

It took Derek a moment to realize he was staring - no glaring - at those long pale legs that were sporadically dotted with freckles. Either way was inappropriate and he forced himself back to his task, grunting in response. When she reached her side of the counter she dropped her backpack on the laminate and nearly knocked over the tall stack of books he was still working on, but he managed to reach out and catch the sliding stack before it was too late.

"Sorry, I tend to be a bit of a walking tornado." She gave him a sheepish smile which softened some of her sharper features and made her look even younger.

"Stiles, I'll be in historic non-fiction, which is why we came here."

"Right, right, I'll be there in just a second." Stiles - what a strange name for a girl - picked up and flipped over the book Derek had just finished logging about pack habits among wolves. "I'm completely terrified of wolves, but I also find them fascinating. They are very graceful and pretty - at a distance mind you," Stiles paused in her rambling, holding a very serious face and her hand poised towards him like she was bracing him for a revelation. "Up close they are very scary! I was nearly attacked by one as a kid, so they are this weird combination of enchanting and horrifying to me. Does that make sense?"

Derek had no idea what she was talking about, he just stared at her wondering when she was going to stop talking about wolves and just go away. It wasn't even that she was saying anything particularly offensive, though he couldn't help the tiny stab when she made the 'horrifying' comment, but it was because he found himself staring at her mouth while she spoke. He just wanted to be left alone and this girl - no doubt jailbait age or worse - with the rose toned lips that she licked and bit at unconsciously while she spoke seemed to have no inclination at all to leave him be.

He leveled a flat look in her direction before scooping up the dozen or so books he'd been working on into his arms. 

"Woah, you're like the Hulk!" She followed closely behind him and it made him more than slightly uncomfortable.

"Isn't your friend waiting for you?" He didn't look back as he started reading the spines of books he wanted to put away, stopping abruptly to shelve a book about orchids. Apparently he should have given some kind of warning though because she careened into his back and when he turned around she was sprawled out on the floor behind him, the corner of the lightly used pack wolf book sticking out from under the shelf by her hip.

"Woah, you are the Hulk! Holy hell that was like hitting a brick wall!" She stared up at him in amazement, propped up on her elbows and one knee bent over the other. 

Adjusting the remaining books into one arm in order to help her up, he had the faintest whisper of a thought that seeing her like that shouldn't have stirred something inside of him, and he tried to banish it as quick as it came. Reaching down he extended his hand and she took it eagerly, giving a squeak of surprise when he had her on her feet much faster than she expected.

"Shit, did you even have to exert any energy when you did that? You're balancing like eight, ten pounds of books in that arm? And then you just hauled my one hundred forty-seven pound ass of the ground like it was nothing! Like I was a sheet of paper, that was amazing!"

"Have you realized you're swearing a lot for a public place?"

She had the foreknowledge to look a little sheepish as she shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged. "Yeah my dad says that all the time. It's a weird thing I do."

"Not sure if it's 'weird', just unexpected." Derek crouched down and retrieved the forgotten wolf book, holding it up to Stiles. "Did you still want this?"

"Your eyes are the deepest green I've ever seen!" She took the book but continued staring at him with her own open wide. "I thought they were brown like mine but they are green! Like a hunter green, I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours."

Derek cleared his throat as he stood up and started walking down the aisle towards the scince fiction section. 

"You're not so great with conversation and complements, I take it." 

He glanced back at her for a split second before returning his attention back to his task. Perhaps if he just ignored her she wouldn't stand so close. He was frustrated with himself, with the war of thoughts and sensations happening in her presence. He didn't even know how old she was and the fact that he was struggling with the need to care disturbed him. Was his lack of physical intimacy turning him into a pervert?

From two aisles over he heard the faintest whisper, no doubt too quite for anyone else to hear, "Christ, Stiles, give the guy a break." Derek couldnt help the twitch the corner of his mouth made at the comment. So clearly this level of intensity was her MO around people.

"Stiles," Her friend's voice was now at the front counter, "I got what we needed, lets go so we can finish this report."

Derek turned around to head back to the register, and he assumed Stiles wouls do the same, but she just stood there hugging the wolf book to her chest and giving him an odd smirk. 

"What?"

"I think you and I shall be friends."

His eyebrow involuntarily rose a full inch, he wasn't sure if he should be terrified or intrigued. Both, he decided, would equal nothing but trouble.

"You just met me, you don't know anything about me -"

"You're Derek Hale, you live up at that old run down house - though its starting to look better -, you've lived here for a few years now and yet I'm pretty sure you don't have any friends. So I will volunteer myself for the job." She seemed unbelivebly pleased with the surprised silence her list of facts brought out of Derek.

"What? Are you following me?" Derek couldn't help the growl in his words as he took a step into her space and peered down at her through glaring eyes.

Stiles breath hitched as she stared up at him with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth. Derek could smell the fear from his imposing posture - which was his intention because he was always so vigilante and if someone was following him around without his knowledge, then he had very big issues to be worrying about - but there was also something else blooming in the air around her. Arousal?

Derek quickly took a step back, still frowning at her before he just decided to push past her towards the register. He ignored the sound of her flailing limbs hitting the bookcase as she tried to get out of his way and he released the books in his arms onto the counter with the force of his irritation - the sound which was magnified in the near empty bookstore.

Stiles was quickly making her way towards the register and added her book to the pile that her friend had collected. "I'm sorry, I wasn't following you-"

The boy with her only looked mildly surprised at her confession and more perterbed, "Seriosusly, Stiles, I can't go anywhere with you without you making a scene."

Stiles just waved him off, "Chill Scott, in fact why don't you take a long walk off a short pier."

Scott just frowned at her, "What does that even mean? Go drown myself?"

Derek, now seriously annoyed, cleared his throat. "$42.56"

"Shit, Stiles how much was that wolf book?"

She started digging into her backpack for money and added wadded up bills to what Scott produced from his wallet.

"Derek, I just mean people have noticed you. They notice you're kind of - what word am I looking for Scott?"

Scott gathered the all books up into his arms and shook his head. "Don't involve me in your date with death. You stepped in it, get yourself out." 

She rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I just mean we should hang out sometime."

"Hang out?" Derek could hear Scott groan as he started walking towars the exit. "You do realize I'm twenty four years old, right? I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't appreciate me hanging around their teenage daughter."

"My dad's cool," Stiles turned to glare at Scott's snort and he held up a hand of surrender, retreating to his earler post of keeping out of it. "Okay, cool might be a stretch, but it's not like you're a bad guy, not like aome serial killer pedophile, right?"

"Am I really supposed to answer that?"

"No, but you get my point. And it's not like I'm thirteen, I'm seventeen and I'll be eighteen this summer. But my point is, everyone needs a friend-"

"Thank you for your buisness but no thank you for your charity. Have a nice day." Derek could practically feel the reverberating shock and frustration that rolled off of Stiles as he walked away. 

He heard Scott coaxing and dragging Stilles out of the store and her not so quite, "What a dick," before the bell jingled signaling their exit.

He was the dick? She was the one insinuating he was some kind of lost cause that needed to be fixed. He was just fine the way he was, if she got her feelings hurt by the facts that wasn't his problem. She had no filter whatsoever. What a pain in the ass.

He heard the splintering of wood before he realized he had been gripping a book shelf so hard it cracked. This didn't improve his mood because now he'd have to fix it.

"Excuse me?"

"What?" His answer barked out before he could remember where he was and when he faced the voice it came from he saw an older woman who looked like she had just lost a year out of fright. He sighed and schooled his voice and temperment to be what it should be - calm. "I apologize, how can I help you?"

He had to remember why he was in Beacon Hills, why he'd chosen to stay in one place all these years. This place lent it self to a calm and quiet demenor. He needed to keep his cool and clearly that meant staying away from the beautiful girl with long legs, big mouth and strange name. 

Stiles was clearly one to be avoided.


	4. Stiles

"To be fair, you did basically accost him and told him you were going to be his friend because he was a loser and that he should act grateful for it."

"'Accost'? Who uses a word like accost anymore?" Stiles turned into her driveway and killed the engine on her Jeep.

Scott regathered the books they purchased at the bookstore before he opened the door to climb out. "Out of all that, that's what stuck out to you?"

"Yeah, becauae who says stuff like that? Besides, you're my best friend, not his, so you should be on my side."

She could hear the dripping sarcasm from him as she walked to the front door, bouncing the keys around in her hand until she found the right one to unlock her front door.

"My bad, how silly of me. What a dick. He should be ever so grateful for your attention and relish the idea of being your friend."

"Why yes, I completely agree Scott." She paused while opening the front door and turned to look back at her childhood friend. "Relish, damn now I want a hot dog with relish."

"You do realize you're a freak of nature, right?"

She nodded with all sincerity, "Yes, but normal people are boring anyway so I try to embrace it."

Scott gave in and just laughed at her, "Get inside Stilinski, now I want food too."

-*-*-

Stiles could probably count on the universe giving her shit more times than it didn't. She didn't know how she managed to end up in situations like she did, but it must be a cosmic joke only unfunny to her.

With a resigned sigh she made her way further into the woods, climbing up the embankment towards a place she hadn't visited since she was a scared shittless pre-teen on a double dog dare from Scott in the middle of the night. He had dared she wouldn't last five seconds let a whole minute on the front porch of the dilapidated and abandoned house nestled deep into the Beacon County preserves.

She'd won the bet but barely, nearly peeing herself when she heard a wolf howl off in the distance, or maybe it was a cyote, she really didn't plan to stick around and investigate as her long legs got her off the porch in one smooth move and had her passing Scott in just a few short strides.

Scott wasn't with her today, if he was she probably wouldn't be working her way up to face a man she really wasn't in a hurry to speak to yet. She'd gotten a flat rounding the preserve and tried as she might, she couldn't get the lug-nut to break free on her own.

Even without hearing the sound of the table saw growing louder as she worked her way up the hill, she knew Derek would be home because it was Sunday afternoon and the only day the bookstore was closed.

As the house came into view she caught sight of Derek standing in front of the table saw, sweat soaked tank top doing very little to hide the was his muscles bunched and stretched as he cut boards to lengths he wanted.

She quickly ducked behind a tree just on the edge of the clearing, wanting to have a longer moment to just watch him move. Stiles figured she probably shouldn't be as surprised by the size of his biceps or how broad his shoulders were since she nearly gained a concussion from smacking into them at his store, but damn. Surprised she was.

 

She couldn't help the rogue thought that crept into her mind as she observed how the sweat formed a sheen over his skin and caused light to dance over his tense muscles - she would love to lick the sweat off of every inch of him, she wondered just what his skin would taste like and if she bit down on -

Derek abruptly lifted his hand from the saw, the blade making a sad whine as it slowed to a stop and she could hear him swear under his breath as he took the front porch steps two at a time and disappeared inside the house.

She wondered if he cut himself on the saw, but before she could think that she should probably offer to help him with some first aid care he was back on the porch zipping a beatten up grey hoddie and yelling in her direction.

"Stiles, get your ass in here already."

Well, she supposed she should take super stealth sniper off of her list of possible after high school careers.

He was already back inside and washing his hands at the kitchen sink when she reached the threshold of the front door. She gave a light rap on the open door frame before entering.

"Can I help you with something, Stiles?" Derek shook his hands off before he grabbed a hanging towel on the handle of the oven door.

"How did you know I was out there?" It wasn't the question she meant to ask, but now that it was out there, she was curious.

"You're not exactly quite."

Ouch. "Yeah but you had a table saw screaming in your ears."

Derek's only response was raised eyebrows, as if their movement said it all. And maybe it did.

She decided not to linger on a subject that clearly made her out to be a walking H-bomb and instead stole the opportunity to see what kind of progress Derek had been making on the inside of his house.

"It's looking really good in here, needs some paint and curtains but wow." She couldn't help the wonder in her voice as she moved away from the kitchen to an archway leading to a side room. The room was divided by a heavy tarp so she turned back and gave Derek a questioning look, to which he just crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the kitchen counter and shrugged.

Turning back she pulled the tarp aside and ducked her head in, "It's a library!" 

She laughed to herself entering the room fully but only because she shouldn't be surprised that a person who owns a bookstore would turn what would be typically a sitting room or a tv room into a library. It was clearly his most treasured room as it looked nearly complete with stained and filled built-in book shelves.

There was wide-set leather chair with ottoman that looked deep enough to just sink into and disappear from life for hours on end, which is exactly what she could picture him doing if not for the countless hours he seemed to spend on his feet. An unoriginal area rug and a small combination side table with overhead light completed meager the furnishings in this room, but still it felt like a complete thought.

When she turned around she crashed right into his chest, which was just as firm as his back, and was only saved from sprawling out onto the ground by his lightning reflexes that had his arms around her waist and holding her impossibly close to him.

Her hands had instinctively grabbed hold of the fabric of his hoddie that was stretched across his chest and she found herself staring wide-eyed at her fingers curling and uncurling against him. 

She was not trying to cop a feel. No. She was just in shock of nearly breaking her skull. That's it.

But god even sweaty he smelled impossibly good, like a forest after it rained. A little musty and clearly damp but still so much like nature it was intoxicating. 

She could feel the muscles in his arms flexing around her and she couldn't help but imagine how easy it would be for him to grip her hips, just pluck her right off the floor and-

"God Stiles I can hear you thinking!" He growled from somewhere deep in his chest, she could feel the vibrations under her hands and when she looked up at him, his mouth was already coming to meet hers.

It was her first kiss. Well her first real kiss. She and Scott had experimented a time or two before they both decided that it is what kissing a sibling had to feel like and neither one of them had any interest in repeating the treatment.

This, however, felt nothing like kissing Scott. Derek's mouth was soft at first, almost questioning but when she pushed up onto her tiptoes, her fingers digging into his shirt for purchase he tightened his hold around her waist and deepened the kiss.

His lips parted and her head swam with the sensation of having her bottom lip taken between his teeth before the wet warmth of his tongue soothed over the tortured flesh.

Derek swallowed her moan like a parched man for water and one hand came to cradle the back of her head, tilting it just so before his tongue slid into and out of her mouth with practiced precision that had her melting in her shoes. 

She half wondered why she hadn't tried kissing boys way before this moment because god if the boys in her school kissed even half as well, it would have totally made high school a lot more fun. The the random thought left her as quickly as it came when he pressed her more firmly against him and when he readjusted the way his mouth fit against hers so that he could devour her completely.

She would probably be embarassed later by the breathy whines he so easily plucked from deep inside her. But every time he lifted his lips from hers to kiss her from a new angle it felt like a loss and she couldn’t help the need that surged from her before he gave her what she wanted again. And again. And again.

She wished time could stand still so she could stay in this moment with the slide of his tongue against hers and bite of almost too sharp teeth on her lips. He kissed her like a man drowning searching for any breath of air and it made her whole body hum in response.

Was it always like this? Why didn’t people live in the perpetual bliss of making out with someone?

When he started lifting his head from hers again, she boldly reaching up and tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him back down to meet her. His growl was purely primal and his lips pressed hard against hers, turning the sweet and passionate kiss into something deeper, something more vicious. 

She could barely keep up with the emotiona flooding into her and she tried to keep her brain from pinging too far into the future. Stay in this moment. Stay here forever. 

"Stiles," The way Derek murmered her name against her mouth, between kisses, made her groan against him because she was pretty sure he could read the phone book in that hushed tone and still have her squirming for more. 

"Fuck, I think you're trying to kill me." His mouth slid from hers to the long column of her neck and while she loved the hot wet feel of his mouth and the sting of his teeth scraping against her skin, she couldn't help but think how he seemed to be smelling her - taking deep ragged breaths against her throat and behind her ear like it was keeping him alive. 

Since she didn't much - any - experience in making out with boys she wasn't sure if this was common or just a Derek thing, but she had to admit that either way it was kind of hot. She also thought the idea of making someone like Derek who had such a carefully constructed bravado breathe like that and accuse her of trying to end his existance just by standing there and letting him kiss her how ever he pleased completely thrilling.

"You're vibrating Stiles."

She hummed in response, yeah she was pretty sure if she was a cat she would be purring too, and while she should probably be concerned about being so obvious to him, she couldn't bring heself to care while he tugged the collar of her shirt to the side and he pressed his teeth into the fleshy part of her shoulder.

He repeated her name and she nodded, "I can't exactly help it when you're doing that -"

She heard something that was probably as close to a chuckle as she could expect from him before she felt his hand slide into her back pocket and -oh she was literally vibrating.

He moved back slightly to produce the small candybar shaped phone, and she watched his eyes flick to the screen before he took a full step back, nearly dropping her on her ass in the process. She stared at him for a full second, watching the face that had been been all lust and passion turn stony and brows drawn in a frown.

When she took her phone and looked at the screen she realized why, "Shit! Shit. Shit. Shit." It was like someone had poured a bucket of ice water all over her. She wondered if there was literal steam coming off of her from the breakneck speed at which she looked at him one more time before she was running from the room, needing to get outside as quickly as possible so she could have signal. And maybe feel a little less guilty for the lie she was about to tell.

"Uh, hey Dad." She wiped a hand across her mouth as if her dad could see Derek's lingering kiss-swollen mouth through the phone waves. "Oh I'm just fine, how are you? What do you mean? Nothing, I am not doing anything wrong." She slapped a hand to her forehead and turned a guilty eye back to Derek's front porch and was grateful he seemed it a good idea to stay inside. 

She was pretty sure her dad would definitly consider making out with a near stranger six years her senior at his shack of a house in the woods anything but good. But she didn't want Derek to have to listen to her trying to cover her own ass and get the wrong idea.

Shit. She just made out with Derek Hale.

"Sorry, I'm here. I just got a flat tire - no I'm okay, I just couldn't get the lug-nut loose- ", Double shit because now she couldn't tell her dad that she was going to ask Derek for help because then he would ask how she knew Derek and there would be no way she would be able to keep a straight face with this being so new. Plus her dad was, you know, basically the Sherlock Holmes of Beacon Hills and he could sniff out the whole story with just one look at her. 

She didn't have a chance to come up with an excuse because she heard the tale tale beep of signal being lost and when she looked at the screen she saw that she no longer had any bars left. 

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

"Where is your car?" Derek was already walking past her with a jack that he was carrying with as little effort as a load of her dirty laundry. 

After a sputtering second she started following him down the embankment she came from, nearly tripping face first over an uprooted limb but yet again Derek's quick reflexes caught her around her middle and he held on until she was steady again.

"Thanks," she tried to smile at him but he wasn't looking at her anymore, his determined walk double time so that even her long legs had to hurry to keep up. "Sorry about my dad, he worries. Especially now that I lost signal, he will no doubt have the whole of Beacon County police force looking for me."

Derek raised an eyebrow at that before turning back to his forward path and after a moment of tense silence Stile's powder blue baby came into view. "That yours?"

"Yeah, I must have hit a pot hole or something. I know how to change a tire but I couldn't get the lug-nut off."

Derek crouched down beside the tire that was definitely flat and inspected the bolts before getting onto his knees to look under the Jeep for where best to position the jack. While she knew this wasn't exactly the best time for the thought, she couldn't ignore how great his ass under the stretched fabric denim jeans he wore.

"Christ, Stiles," Derek's eyes had an almost iridescent reddish tone when he turned and looked up at her but as quickly as she had registered it, it was gone and all she was left with was his hunter greens and furrowed brows. "Can you just get the tire iron or something to get the bolts off?"

She frowned back at him, for the first time today annoyed with his mood swings. "What crawled up your ass all the sudden? It's not like my dad is going to arrest you for helping the damsel in distress or anything."

Not for the first time she had a thought about how he needed a bell around his neck because when she turned around from the back of the Jeep, tire iron in hand, he was right there. 

She yelped and fell against the back of her Jeep. “Shit, how do you move like that?”

If Derek heard her question, he didn’t register it on his face. “Who is your dad?”

Ever get that feeling something was about to go terribly sideways? That twist in your gut that just makes you sick without warning? She was getting that feeling right now.

“Sherriff Noah Stilinski, why?”

Derek’s eyes squeezed shut and his mouth flattened into a thin line, hands clenched into knuckle white fists at his sides. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” It was clearly meant as a rhetorical question for himself, mumbled under his breath

“‘Fraid not, do you have warrents for your arrest or something?” That was probably one of those questions Stiles should have asked BEFORE she started making out with a basic stranger.

Dereks eyes gave that dazzling iridescent red spark for just a flash second and while it was there and gone in just the blink of an eye, she was convinced that she hadn’t imagined it now.

He reached out and grabbed for the tire iron and out of self preservation instincts she jumped back two steps. Hurt and confusion quickly passed over his face before he returned to his signiture scowl.

“May I please have the tire iron?” She could tell he was trying to keep several emotions in check, all at once. He practically growled each syllable but he said it with such formality that she knew she’d somehow struck a nerve.

She gave him a weak smile and handed it over to him. Before she could even appologize for acting like a spooked rabbit, he was already walking away from her and crouching down by her flat tire.

It all happened so quickly - and silently - she wasn’t even sure he used the iron to remove the lug nuts. But she didn’t exaclty get a good look and there was no way that really happened. 

He yanked off the flat tire in one fluid motion and tossed it into the back of the Jeep. With hands on the edge of the Jeep, he looked inside for the spare tire and when he saw nothing but a gym bag and some garbage he heaved a heavy sigh and dropped his head, mumbling something so softly she couldn’t hear it.

“God are you always this crabby when things don’t go your way?” She pushed him aside - well more like she pushed, nothing happened because he is built like an actual statue made of marble, he relented and stepped aside - and after tossing her gym bag into the back seat she moved the flat tire out of the way as much as she could and lifted a thinly carpeted cardboard floorboard to reveal a hidden spare tire.

Growling under his breath he hauled the spare and made a big arc around her to head back to the front of the Jeep.

“And you growl a lot. Its mostly hot.” Which earned her another, deeper growl. “Seriously hot.” Derek just looked up at her with a ‘really?’ look he rolled his eyes and went back to work while shaking his head.

“You’re like a grumpy wolf. When you kiss it’s all sweet and passion-“

“Stiles, stop.”

“But then you just get,” She paused for a split second, thinking of the right adverb to associate with his attitude changes. “Sour, from sweet to sour. You’re a sourwolf.”

Derek gave her a look she couldn’t decipher before declaring the spare was on and started lowering the Jeep. 

With his jack in one hand and her tire iron in the other, he looked every bit the sexy mechanic she’d seen on covers of harlequin novels. It was definetly doing something for her.

“Damnit Stiles,” He squeezed his eyes shut and for a moment it looked like she punched him. When he opened his eyes again he had a resigned look on his face. “I have to go out of town for a few days.” He said it as he offered her tire iron back to her.

It was her turn to frown at him. “Uh, oookk.” It was easy to see that people might be more open to sharing things once they start making out, but it just seemed odd that a man who hasn’t shared anything else about himself was suddenly sharing his schedule with her.

“Is everything ok?” She didn’t expect an answer because everything was clearly not okay. “What about the store?”

“It will be fine. Once a month I have to-”, whatever he had planned on telling her, he stopped himself and his demenor changed into something hard. “I need go out of town for a couple of days. The shop will be fine.”

If she had a mirror, she would guess she was wearing her best ‘get bent’ look. “You already said that. You’re acting ridiculous. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You just met me, how would you even know the difference. Just because we kissed? Now you think you know me?” His voice rose with every question, frown deep set with thick brows his eyes making that quick shift between hunter green and irridecent ruby shade. 

What the hell was up with his eyes?

“You know what, thanks for helping with my tire, but you can go fuck yourself.” She stormed passed him, tossing the iron into the passenger seat and turning the key that had been left in the ignition over.

She would not cry. Not over this asshole. She would not cry. She pulled out onto the dirt road as safely as she could on the spare tire but needing to put as much distance between them as possible. When she shifted back to the main road her phone instantly startes ringing and she knew who it was even as she fished it out of her back pocket.

“Hey dad,” Stiles banished a single tear before forcing her encounter with the sourwolf named Derek Hale from her mind. “No, I’m ok, I just had no cell service for a minute. But I’m on the main road now.”

She listened to her dad talk about the plan for getting her tire fixed and how maybe it was time for a phone upgrade if it meant she wouldn’t be without service.

“It’s ok dad, it was a fluke thing. I’m on my way, can we just talk about it when I get home? Ok. I love you too.”

Ending the call she sat with her phone in hand resting on her lap, willing herself to not thing about the man who lives in the woods. She was willing herself not to care why he was leaving, where he was going or how she didn’t notice that once a month he left his store closed for days. 

Stiles willed herself to forget him and forget the way he made her feel like she was sexy and desired. Who needed lust or passion anyway?

Fuck. She did. She needed it bad.


	5. Derek

What the hell was he doing? The sheriff’s fucking kid. She’s a damn minor to begin with but now she’s definitely jailbait. Her dad could slap him with at least a dozen charges that end in “with a fucking minor”

Derek threw shirts and jeans into a travel bag with the force of his frustration along with the other supplies he might need while gone for a few days.

He definitely blamed his lack of common sense on the fact that the new moon was nearly over Beacon County and it always jacked with his brain around this time. Granted, he hadn’t had lack if self control to this extreme level since he was fifteen or so. Raging hormones mixed with his elevated senses had seem to equal chaos both in his mind and with his body.

It got easier to contol but he learned a long time ago it was better to deal with the urges and side effects in a way that wouldn’t put his home or those around him in any kind of danger. Still, it pissed Derek off to no end that every month he had to put his life on hold because of something he never even wanted. Never asked for.

It wasn’t so much the new moon itself that caused the problem: the influx of testosterone, carnal need, sense of smells heightened especially on other people, and the most obvious physical changes. The new moon was more or less just a marker on the calendar; one where he would have recived suppressants to help damper the “unnecessary sideffects” of the life he’d left behind.

The sideffects of no longer getting daily injections, trials and training were the consequences of his freedom that he’d stolen back. He would never go back to that life - even if it meant making other choices he wasn’t exactly proud of.

Derek slammed the front door behind him on his way out of the house hard enough for the windows to shake in response. He was frustrated with himself for waiting so long to leave town this month. He should have went right after Stiles had rattled him the first time.

He was sure that the lack of physical intimacy was part of the problem - clearly it was a problem because he practically swallowed her whole like a midday snack right in his den. 

He had told himself to just stay in the kitchen, to keep as much space between them as possible. But the lingering wafts of arousal that had him storming away from the table saw in the first place tantilized ans teased him enough that he just needed to be closer. 

He was a sunk ship after that. The smell was so sweet and thick, it was like she was assaulting his senses on purpose with how fast and frequent it was rolling off of her. Every moment he thought he might get a grip on himself, it just got thicker and the part of himself that he tried so hard to control would step in and growl to life. 

He could feel if prowling in the caged parts of himself that Derek had banished it to, pacing back and forth while frothing at the mouth with such a ferral need that it honestly worried Derek. Not just because he know what would happen if the carefully constructed cage ever came down. But also because of how bad, in that moment, he wanted to just let go and let it happen.

He was tired of constently holding so much of himself back and the way Stiles just fit into his arms and the way she melted into his mouth just made him want to lay her down and claim her. 

If she had any idea the things her moans and her fingers in his hair made him want to do to her, she would have run for the hills, flat tire be damned.

Which is why he had fo get out of town this very instant. He absolutely felt like a dick for being the cause of the hurt and confusion on her face. It also proved his point that he was better off on his own and handling things the way he had been, because this way no one got hurt.

She seemed like a nice girl, though always talking too much and trying to push his buttons, so she didn’t deserve to be at the brunt end of his shit show. It was his to deal with. Alone.

It would only take a couple of hours to reach his destination and by the time he came back, it would no doubt mean he would be feeling more himself again and Stiles - well, he would just have to forget about her.

_*_*_

When he saw her again it was two and a half weeks after their last encounter and he stopped in his tracks, frozen in both disbelief at his shit luck and becauae he’d almost forgotten how stunning she was.

She was laughing, face completely open and free, eyes crinkling at the corners and the sound was alluring. She looked like a catalog model sitting on the end of a picnic table with a white tank top revealing the soft curve of her shoulders where the flannel shirt she had been wearing had slipped off of them. She wore a short denim skirt with barely laced up combat boots crossed at the ankle and swinging absently as she talked.

She was with Scott, her ever faithful companion it seemed, and some other boys in lettermans jackets. It was not impossible to see why they had all flocked to her, she was eating an ice cream cone and even from here he could tell the young boys had not missed the way her tongue curved around the column of frozen ice milk.

He also couldn’t help the natural response his body gave at seeing these boys wanting something they didn’t deserve. 

He frowned at himself, the thought taking him by surprise because did he actually think he deserved her? And even if he had, did he already forget why he had wanted to avoid her? He was looking out for her as much as himself by keeping her at arms length.

Turning to leave, he decided that the sight before him had ruined his appetite and that if he hurried he might get away sight unseen. 

It wasn’t until he had his hand half way on the handle of his car that he realized he’d been followed. He blamed the overpowering scent of male testosterone as well as the shifting winds for throwing off his game.

Before the person following him even had a chance to lay a finger on bim, Derek had him pinned to the hood of his black Camero.

“Dude, what the hell?” Scott flayed against the hood, kicking the tire in an effort to get leverage on something.

“Why are you following me?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, fuck man.” After deciding it was the truth Derek released him and folded his arms over his chest. “What the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t like people following me.”

Scott rubbed his cheek where his face had been pressed down. “Yeah, no shit Sherlock.”

“What did you want, Scott?”

Scott gave up worrying about his face, more likely it was his pride that had been hurt, and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Look, I am not saying I think you’re good for her or whatever because I don’t know much of anything about you. Other than you like to act like a mofia member gone rogue most of the time.”

Derek couldn’t keep the annoyed sigh from escaping because honestly what the hell was Scott rambling about? That seemed to be more of Stiles’ thing. Oh. Shit.

“By ‘she’ you mean Stiles.” It wasn’t a question.

“Who else would I be talking about?” Scott was looking at him like Derek was an idiot. “Are there other girls you’ve made out with recently and then ignored for weeks?” Scott was looking at Derek like he dared the answer to be anything but no.

It was a situation that would have been comical in any other case - mostly because Scott was a whole head shorter than Derek and while he seemed to be athletically built he was no where near the size and strength that Derek was, yet Scott didn’t look detered one bit by this. The reason it wasn’t comical was because the last thing he wanted was to be having this conversation at all, let alone a short walk away from the subject in question. 

“I'm not discussing this.” Derek started to reach for his car door again and Scott slid in the way. “Move, Scott, before I move you.”

Scott one hundred percent looked like he belived this was a very real possibility, but he also didn’t move. Just took a deep breath and shook his head. 

“What are you two boys up to over here?” The fresh scent of her hit his nose the same time he heard her voice and he forgot all about Scott in that single moment as he turned to face her.

She was standing not far from them, looking perterbed with arms crossed over her chest, shoulders still bare from where her overshirt laid pooled at her elbows. 

How could she look so stunning with next to no hair, an outfit that screamed something from a 90’s cult-classic flick, and an expression that said she was completly out of fucks.

“Uh, we were just talking about Derek’s car, werent’t we?” Scott prompted Derek, even going so far as to elbow him in the side.

“No we weren’t,” Derek took an unconscious step away from Scott and towards Stiles. “You were trying to give me a speech about being nicer to Stiles.” 

Stiles burried her face in her hands out of embarassment at the same time that Scott called him a dick under his breath.

“Scott, I’m going to kill you.” She waved off his protests about just looking out for her, giving a lopsided smile. “I love you, but there is nothing to look out for. Right, Derek? It was a one time thing, that’s it. I’ve moved on.”

Derek could here the skip in her heartbeat of untruth but he let it pass. She would be better off believing he was an asshole than to know the truth.

“Scott, lets go man, the coach will be pissed if we don’t get to practice on time.” A young man in a letterman’s jacket wandered over to their growing group and made a show of staring at Stile’s long legs and her mouth. “You can come watch us if you want to, Stiles.”

There was a nervous uptick in Stiles’ pulse as well as a bloom of pink across her chest as she smiled st him. “Thanks, Lyam, I have to pass this time, I have a report due tomorrow that is like 40% of my semester grade.”

Derek wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed that he had to watch this exchange, that this boy clearly had unsavory intentions towards Stile’s or that they quite possibly matched his own intentions. Fucking hell.

“Do you need a ride?” The words were out before he could stop himself. Stile’s Jeep was no where to be seen but that didn’t mean she didn’t already have a ride or would even want one from him if she didn’t have one.

Stiles’ and Scott’s reactions of ‘Really?’ and Scott’s ‘Hell no!’ overlapped each other before Stiles glared at Scott as he groaned.

“Seriously? You know what I meant, I was not being a sexist pig.”

Stiles didn’t even reply, she just walked around to the passenger side of the Camero and climbed in.

Scott as grumbling and cursing under his breath about how he needed something way stronger than a milkshake to get through Stiles’ moodswings lately.

Derek cleared his throat and when Scott looked up at him, he just raised a brow and fixed a pointed stare. Finally, Scott sighed and moved but not before tossing him the finger. 

When Derek closed the driverside door behind himself he was hit like a punch to the gut over how powerfully Stiles’ scent filled the small space.

He could practially feel the wild percussion of her pulse in his ears and nervous excitement bounced off of her like a Californian wildfire. He could hardly breathe.

“Stiles,” Even he could hear the desperation in his voice, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so that he didn’t reach out for her.

“Don’t say my name like that unless you plan on doing something about it.” As soon as his head turned to look at her, he knew he’d made a huge mistake. 

She was looking at him like she wouldn’t have a problem letting him do anything he wanted about it. And then the overwhelmingly sweet and thick smell of arousal filled the cab of the car like a feild full of honeysuckle on a hot summer night hit him with full force. 

He turned in his seat to reach for her and she put a hand on his chest, giving him pause. She grinned at him but he wasn't sure what was so funny. “Scott may be a pretty chill guy, and practically my brother but I have no doubt in my mind that he will come through that window if he sees you coming at me with that look in your eyes. Mr. Sourwolf.”

She laughed at his protest over the new found petname and when he started to settle back into his chair she clenched the front of his shirt into her fist. After looking down at her fist before looking back at her, Stiles’ expression changed from that of humor to serious and the scent like warm honeysuckle rolled off her again.

“I’m not saying no, just not here.”

All Derek could do was dumbly nod before putting the key into the ignition and bringing the Camero roaring to life. Scott barely got out of the way as he peeled out of the parking-lot.

_*_*_

Derek turned off the ignition at Hunter’s Pointe and, not for the first time, he asked himself what the hell he was thinking? He must be out of his mind.

Derek had spent half the drive with the window down, which helped - in his oppinion - greatly air out the waves of intense emotions coming from Stile’s side of the car. But as the sun started going down the wind whipping into the car took on a much cooler temperature and though she didn’t say anything Derek saw her pull her shirt closer around her to fight off the chill. From that point on the window was up.

It was far too quite in the car now that the engine no longer masked the steady, though slightly elevated, beat of Stiles’ pulse drumming in his ears. 

“Derek?” He flinched internally at how small her voice sounded right now and he knew it was because he’d refused to respond to anything she said since they left the parking lot. He was trying desperatly not to attack her like a wild animal, but he knew he couldn’t exactly tell her that.

He leaned his head back against the rest of his chair, closed his eyes and sighed, “Yeah Stiles?”

There full heartbeat before she spoke again, “Do you hate me?”

He couldn’t help the snort that came from himself, “No. It would probably make my life a lot easier if I did, but no.”

“Then why are you so hot and cold with me?”

Derek rubbed his palms against the denim on his thighs, trying to distract himself from the overwhelming itch they had to put the car back in gear and drive away from this conversation. Obviously, with Stiles in the car, that wouldn’t help much anway.

“Because you’re seventeen and I shouldn't want from you the things I do.” He expected her to get pissed at his confession, because what did it matter what his reasonings were if it meant that he kept pulling the rug out from under her?

What he got was a steady uptick in her pulse and a soft hum from her side of the car. “What exactly would those things be?”

Derek couldn't help the sideways glare he shot her before closing his eyes again, becaue looking at her big brown eyes was not helping the issue at hand. 

“I don’t think that is a healthy topic of conversation.”

“Probably not,” After a moment he couldn't ignore the sound of shuffling from beside him and he opened his eyes in time to watch one of Stiles’ long legs cross over the consol and in between his legs before the rest of her followed suit and tumbled into his lap. She laughed akwardly as she used leverage of the seat on either side of his shoulders to push herself just above him. “Not talking about it isn’t healty either.”

“Stiles,” He couldn’t stop the way his voice felt like gravel arouns her name or the way his hands had reached up for her hips on reflex while she hovered over him with one knee tucked between his thighs and the other shoved helplessly between the consol and his.

He also couldn’t stoo the way his eyes traveled the length of her body, fingers flexing against her hips as his eyes passed to where denim ended and smooth pale flesh began and continued until disapearing into her boots.

“What are you trying to do to me?” Derek tossed his head back with the effort of trying to hold onto what little control he had left around her. 

She gave him a shy smile as little red blotches bloomed on her chest, the smell of honeysuckle again filling the car. Squirming she tried to lift the leg that was between his thighs but found it was trapped by the confined limitations of her skirt hem, she tried to prop herself up on one hand to get the leverage she needed to hike her skirt more but nearly fell back into her own seat in the process.

Huffing a sigh she leaned back over him and even without his hightened senses he could see the process of her thoughts go from frustrated to something wicked. He raised a brow at her, leery because while he may have an idea of what part of her brain she was listening to at the moment, he didn’t know what exactly that meant for him.

“Derek,” She murmered his name softely as she bent down to his lips, grazing hers over his so softly he might have missed it if his every sense wasn't completly focused on the gorgeous girl above him. “Can you help me out here?”

His brain must have short circuited because he didn’t remember hearing what it was she needed help with.

She pressed a firmer kiss to the corner of his mouth, her tongue probing where the two lips met togerher before retreating again. “Unless you like my knee here,” Sties reminded him where ‘here’ was by pressing her knee more firmly between his thighs. 

He groaned and reflexively reached for the back of her thigh, keeping pressure against himself where he was already starting to feel the ache. His grip relaxed after a moment and his eyes lifted to Stiles’ above him.

Her eyes were big and full of heat as she acknowledged that what she was feeling against the side of her knee and thigh was exactly what she’d meant to tease at him about. “Fuck, Derek my skirt is stuck.”

Swearing under his own breath he acknowledged he should be putting her back into her seat and taking her home, not sliding his hands up the buttery smooth skin of her thighs, pushing the hem of her skirt higher and higher so that she could adjust and settle herself onto his lap better. So that he could actually feel the warm and weight of her body pressing against his erection. 

But that's what he did, and now that she was straddling him with her skirt pushed up around her waist barely covering the color of her underwear from his curious gaze, he couldn't see how there could have been any other option.

“Fuck, this is so hot.” Now that she didn’t need her hands for leverage, they were free to roam and explore. They were much braver this time than the first, one hand immedatly bunching in his hair while the other gripped the collar of his shirt as she pulled him closer to meet her mouth.

It was fucking hot. Fucking stupid. But fucking hot as hell. His mouth crushed against hers, licking into it as he swallowed her moan letting his hands grip and kneed the bare flesh of her thighs. He wanted them wrapped completly around him but he tried to satisfy his tactile need of memorizing how they felt under his fingertips instead.

Stiles’ moans were free and loud in the small space of the car and it did nothing to strengthen his grip on his ever fraying self control. He wasn't sure if she was even aware that she was rutting against him, or if it was just a natural urge she was trying to find traction to satisfy, but either way was going to kill him.

“Stiles, shit, hold still.” He gripped her thighs firmly, stopping their movements and he rested his forehead on her shoulder while he tried to collect himself. 

She whimpered in response and his dick definitly reacted to it like a lit match tossed into a dry brush, sending a full fledged ache that went all the way down to the backs of his knees. 

“God, it feels so good though, does it always feel this good?” She started rocking against him again, her mouth sucking and licking along his neck in a way that he had to activly keep himself from ripping her underwear off and saying ‘fuck it’ to self control. 

There was something about her question that struck him as odd, but when she started activly and with purpose rolling her hips forward against him he forgot what he had been thinking about.

His world contracted down to this moment, her shifting in his lap, thighs pressed tightly against his, her nose tucked under his chin while her fingers flexed against the fabric of his shirt and in his hair. The only thing he could smell was her thick sweet scent of arousal and the only thing he could hear was the combination of her heartbeat pounding wildly and her ragged breathing in his ears. 

He never liked activly associating any part of himself that wasn't strictly human with his life, but in this moment he was so grateful for his added senses because he could practically taste her looming orgasm and it was all for him. He felt that primal urge to claim her like some pack animal again and instead of resisting the idea, he slid his hands over her ass and helped her find a more consistent rhythm against him.

He was rewarded with another whimper that got lost in a moan, her body curling even closer to his and he couldn't resist bending his head down to breathe in deeply behind her ear.

While Derek hadn’t come from rutting away in a car since he was probably Stiles’ age or younger, the mixture if her scents and sounds had him feeling as though it might actually happen tonight. He was so lost in her, wanting to be able to memorize the way her body shook and the irratic pattern of her breathing as she inched closer and closer to her end that he didn’t hear the footsteps or sense another person was even in ther proximity until the rap of a maglite flashlight against his driverside window snapped him out of his sex filled stupor. 

Stiles let out a scream of fright but it was laced with desire and he felt her shake against him, the scent of her orgasm filling the car. He let out a near ferral growl, not sure what he was more pissed about: the fact that once again purely in relation to Stiles someone had snuck up on him again, he missed the moment he had been so honed in on or that he couldn’t seem to keep his senses in her presence. Or the fact that this walking corpse kept tapping on his window with a flashlight.

Derek rolled the window down a fraction of an inch and the flashlight flooded the dark interior of the car. Stiles turned her head away from the light and burred her face into his neck, swearing under her breath as her body trembled and her pulse rate slowed.

“Sorry kids, but you can’t park here.” 

Derek didn’t think that Stiles could cling any closer to him but she tried with all her might, muttering under her breath. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“Stiles,” Her name didn’t come out as a question, but a statement of fact from outside the car and the beam of light focused on the back of her head. “Goddamnit.”

“What am I missing?” Derek could feel the tension building around him between the two who clearly had more information than he did.

“Um, Derek meet Sheriff Stilinski, dad meet Derek.” She never once lifted her face from his neck, her fingers digging harder to his shirt collar and he could hear the pop of fabric giving way under the force.

Derek groaned as the weight of her statement crashed down on him.

“Son, I’m only going to ask this one time: take your hands off my daughter’s ass and please step out of the vehicle.”

Derek didn’t think it was overly dramatic to hope the sheriff just shot him on sight.


	6. Stiles

“Ok, first of all dad I need you to take about twenty steps back and face away from the car or I will never be able to look at you ever again.”

“For christ’s sake,” Stiles could practically hear the cartilage of her dad’s nose whining under the pressure of him pinching at the bridge to try and ward off the tension building there. 

Still, she could hear the gravel crunching under his shoes as he moved away from the car. “Alright, I’m facing away from a vehicle I just asked a man I’m about two seconds away from arresting to get out of. As a veterin cop, let alone the damn sheriff of this town, that is a sentence I would have never thought I’d say.”

“Shit he’s so pissed.” Stile’s groaned and burred her face into the safe warmth of Derek’s neck once more. Nervously she looked up at the man she had just shared her most intimate moment to-date with and while he was staring straight ahead with frustration clearly simmering under the surface, she could see his adam’s apple bobbing with the force of his swallowing.

She lightly touched the side of his face and his attention was on her once more. “Don’t worry, he’s mostly pissed at me. I’ll make sure he calms down and lets you go.”

The corner of his mouth tugged ever so slightly for the breifest of moments before it was gone again. “I appreciate the thought, but if it was my daughter in a strange man’s car - on his lap no less - I think I would take his throat out with my bare hands.”

“I'm going to blame the recent events for that sounding more hot than horrifying - you being all paternal and protective, not the actual throat ripping. That would be really messy and not -“

“Stiles, you have two seconds before I’m turning around and I won’t give a damn about what I will or won’t see.”

“Okay, okay.” Stiles gave Derek what she hoped was a goofy and yet supportive grin before she popped the latch on his door and started to climb out.

There was no graceful way of getting out and in the process she gave Derek an eyeful of her red The Flash underwear before she could pull her skirt to its appropriate level. When she looked at Derek to offer some kind of sorry about that, all words died in her throat because of the heat in Derek’s eyes and it occured to her that he probably didn’t get his release.

With one quick look back at her father, still turned away, she leaned back down to Derek’s eye level and spoke in a hushed tone. “If you promise not to let my dad scare you off,” Her eyes flicked down to his crotch which was still slightly bulging before looking back into his deep hunter green eyes. “I promise I will make it up to you.”

Derek was out of the car, and in her space faster than she could register in her mind that he had even moved. She wasn’t sure if it was the light in his from the over head street light or if his eyes really did flash that strange iridescent ruby color she sometimes imagined before they were deep green again.

“Walk away, Stiles.” His voice dropped to a deep timber that she almost didn’t even recognize coming from him. “Or I won’t care what your dad does or doesn’t see either.”

“Shit.” It wasn’t nearly hot enough outside for the flash of heat that just washed over her. “Walking away. I'm, yeah, I’ll be over here. Okay, bye.”

Stiles took a deep breath that she hoped calmed away all the reckless emotions rolling around in her head and body. She needed to face her dad with a clear head - but right now her head was full with Derek and she couldn’t really think around him very well.

“Hey dad,” Stiles stood next to her father but she had to stare into the same distance he was, not able to look him in the eye quite so soon. “Sorry it was you who found us.”

“Not as sorry as I am, kid.” He sighed, his hands on his hips and shook his head. “What were you thinking?”

“Dad, nothing happened.” Lie. “We were just making out a little.” Double lie.

He gave her a sideways glance that said he doubted it. “I would love to believe that. Hell, I may even tell myself that for some time to come just because it doesn’t make me see red.”

She couldn’t help the frustration building inside her. “Dad, we are not the first kids to ‘neck at makeout point’. It’s a thing kids do.”

Her dad rounded on her then, finger pointing and tone steely. “That is my point. You are still a child and he is not. What is he thirty years old?”

“No, dad, give me some credit. He’s twenty four.”

“From where I’m standing that still spells statutory rape.”

She wanted to fall over from the shock of the accusation. She stared at her father, madder than she’d ever seen him and for the first time since she could remember she was scared speechless.

Her dad’s face suddenly shifted from anger to sadness, rubbing a hand over his face. “Go get in the cruiser.”

“Dad, please,” she reached out, wanted to plead for Derek’s behalf but her dad cut her off with a sharp look.

“If you don’t get in the cruiser right now I will arrest him and charge him with rape faster than you can finish that sentence. Stiles I’m serious, I’m dead serious.”

She couldn’t bring herself to look at Derek as she turned to get in the police cruiser. She wasn’t sure why she always seemed to get tears on her cheeks after being with him. It seemed that their “relationship” was always fraught with so many intense emotions and yet somehow heartache was always the one she was left holding on to.

She couldn’t hear what her father was saying to Derek, his back to the cruiser - probably on purpose so she couldn’t read his lips - and Derek was stone. His thumbs were tucked into his front pockets and while he had the sense to be respectful and look the sheriff in the eye when he was being spoken to, Stiles could practically hear the gears turning in his head. Working out a plan to leave her behind if he got out of this mess with the skin on his back.

Derek never said anything other than ‘yes, sheriff’, ‘no, sheriff’, ‘I understand’, and she was pretty sure she made out the phrase ‘not my intention’ but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the context of that phrase and found herself looking away. 

Was that it for them? A couple of amazing rounds of kissing, an orgasm that ended with her father showing up, and a whole lot of frustration? It seemed so Days of Our Lives to be happening this way. People of all ages dated - and actually had sex - all the time. Why didn’t she get to be one of them?

She hadn’t even noticed her dad walking back to the cruiser until he was opening the door and the cabin light came on. When he got in, the first thing she did was look up and she caught the taillights of Derek’s Camero peeling out of the alcove. Her heart clenched as if someone had physically reached in and was holding it in their fist.

She could hardly breathe when she finally asked the question, “You told him he could go if he promised never to see me again, didn’t you?”

Her dad sighed and turned the engine of the cruiser over, headlights automatically coming on and the static of the CB police radio sounded deafening in their silence.

“I didn’t say forever, I said he couldn’t see you again until you were eighteen. And then it wouldn’t be alone, but with supervision.”

“Supervision?” Stiles was indignant as she turned in her seat, to face her father head on. “This isn’t the 1920s dad, I didn’t do anything that a million other teenagers do. I like Derek,” She was mad at herself for letting her voice crack and turned away, slouching in the seat again.

“I’m sure you do.” Her dad started driving towards the house. “You’ll like many boys in your life, I just want to make sure you don’t throw everything away on the first one who shows you a little attention.”

Stiles just shook her head because she knew anything she said would just sound childish and he wasn’t listening to what she had to say anyway. 

After a few minutes of silence she couldn’t help the murmur that escaped her lips, “I wish mom were here, she would understand.”

Even though she couldn’t see him in the dark - even if she wanted to - she knew the words stung her dad. She hadn’t compared their parenting abilities in years. It was one of those things she may have thought in her head, but just never said out loud. She knew it would hurt him.

Which in some way she supposed is what she’s wanted because now he was hurting her. And because it was actually true in this case. She truely belived her mom would have backed her up.

“I wish she was here too, kid, me too.” He reached out and put his hand on the top of her head, thumb lasily rubbing against her forehead and while she wanted to shake him off out of spite, the contact was needed when she was feeling so split open.

_*_*_

“Shit, so how long are you grounded for?” 

The lunchroom was filled with the usual noise and casual chaos of teenagers laughing and eating their mediocre public school food without much fuss. Normally, Stiles would have been included in that description, but today she was feeling more melancholy and mostly just pushed her food around the plastic tray with her fork as she filled Scott in on what happened after they parted ways.

She sighed before offering a shrug. “No clue. Dad said I was grounded until, I quote, ‘I stop seeing you straddling Derek every time I close my eyes.’ So, basiclly forever?”

Scott looked like he wanted to be sick, “Your dad actually said the word straddling?”

She grimmiced and nodded, “There have been some very uncomfortable conversations happening in the Stilinski house. I even got the sex talk again.” Stiles pushed her tray out of the way and dropped her forehead on the table with enough force for the fork on on the tray to bounce.

“Shit, that sucks. What the hell are you going to do now?”

Stiles sat up, a large red circle present on her forehead, “Fuck if I know. I need to see Derek though, I’ll go crazy if I don’t find out where we stand but I’m on total lock down - school, home, home, school - I even caught a cruiser tailing me on my way to school today!”

“Shit, maybe you should give it a week or so, just to get your dad to calm down. If you get caught talking to him, your ass will never see the light of day again.”

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Scott was right. She needed to let things calm down, then she would make her move. Of course would also give her time to figure out what the hell that move would be.

_*_*_

She didn’t really need to figure out a plan to see Derek again, because fate intervened just two weeks later with a plan that would throw the two of them together again.

Fate, as it happened, was a bitch. And her name was Jackie Whitmore. 

“Is this seat taken?” Stiles had the feeling that in another life, Jackie was some kind of evil villain, pretty but holding some kind of secret that would throw a wrench in the hero’s plans and then just laugh menacingly with her pet crow. Or something like that.

“For you? Yea, it’s taken.” Stiles was eating more but she still found herself pushing the food around her tray more than she normally would.

“Great, thanks. Hi, Scott.” She sat down with a big grin, her hands folded on the table.

“Hey, I guess.” Scott was eyeing her suspiciously because he knew she would never just sit with them for no reason.

“You’re looking good since you joined the lacrosse team!” She gave him a blatant once over, even sitting up a little taller for a moment so she could look beyond what the table blocked her from seeing.

“I just joined two weeks ago, I haven’t even been on the feild for a game yet.”

“Still, there’s a very rugged air to you that wasn’t there before.” She winked at him suggestivly.

“Uh, thanks again.” Scott looked at Stiles and leaned over the table to whisper loudly - not bothering to hide from Jackie. “What is happening?”

Stiles leaned in and loudly whispered back, “I don’t know, maybe if we sit really still she won’t be able to see us anymore and think we disappeared.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, some of her fake nice starting to ebb away with the frustration of being around Stiles’ antics. She shook it off and squared her shoulders as she painted on another dazzling smile.

“So this past weekend was my eighteenth birthday.”

Jackie paused and both Stiles and Scott wished her the obligatory belated happy birthday she wanted.

“Thank you,” Jackie smiled smugly. “My friends took me to a sex club a few hours from here. One of those kinky kinds where people have all kinds of fetishes fulfilled.”

Both Scott and Stiles recoiled but Stiles was the most vocal, making gagging sounds that had a couple people pausing in their conversations to see if she was alright. 

“Oh my god, first why would you go to a nasty place like that, and two why are you telling us about it?” Stiles couldn’t help the way she needed to slowly start inching her chair away from the petrie dish that was Jackie. 

“Oh it was a very nice place, very upscale and classy. They had all kinds of different things everyone could try and if you didn’t want to join in you could just watch. It was very liberating.”

Scott frowned at Jackie with much distaste. “You’re eighteen, what the hell do you need liberated from?”

Stiles could see the control starting to slip from Jackie’s patience but still she pressed on, whatever it was, it must be huge.

“Anyway,” She gave a breif side glare to Scott before turning back to Stiles. “I heard about you and Derek Hale, shame that didn’t work out. He’s very hot.”

Stiles gut clenched at the mention of his name from Jackie’s lips. She tried not to let it show. “Smooth segway there Whitmore.”

She shrugged and pulled a picture out of her pocket. Looking at it before she looked up at Stiles with false sympathy on her face. Stiles’ gut clenched again.

“My friends took tons of pictures, most of which are too racy to bring to this prudish institution.” She glared at the surrounding area, like it had anything to do with the fact that no one wanted to see her sex pictures.

“When we got the film develped I was so excited to relive that fun weekend. Only I noticed something in the background of this photo, I was thinking maybe you could help,” She paused to slide the photo in front of Stiles. “I’m pretty sure that is Derek Hale geting his freak on in the back ground.”

Stiles’ whole world contracted down to nothing as she picked up the photo and stared beyond the image of a scantily-clad Jackie Whitmore riding on the back of a grown man wearing a horse head with a bridal bit in his mouth and the reins in Jackie’s hand. While that was disturbing enough, it would never have the effect that the image in the background had on her.

She could hear Jackie distantly talking about red-eye flash problems with disposable cameras and how they should have fixed that by now.

Even with the flare of red eyes, even with the costume on, Stiles new that was Derek. He had a woman bent over a table and he was draped over her back with one hand gripping her bare hip tightly while the other held her wrists together over her head. Her face was turned towards the camera but she was looking back at Derek, face of pure ecstasy.

Derek’s face was a little different. It was hard, vicious even with more facial hair than she was used to and since seeing him in his tank top once, she knew that the hair covering his back and arms had to be part of the elaborate costume. The hand gripping her hip had long pointed nails that were digging in to her flesh, one even producinf a small line of blood. If it hurt, the girl certainly didn’t seem to mind. 

His nose was slightly more elongated and he seemed to be wearing fangs of some kind to complete what was clearly a wolf fetish. He wasn't looking at the girl though, his focus was distant, and it was because his head was slightly turned that the camera caught the flash of red in his eyes.

Without thought or warning Stiles jumped up, clutching the picture in one hand, her purse in another, and ran out of the lunch room and out of the school. Behind her she could hear Scott yelling for her to stop and wait, and she heard Jackie saying she wanted her picture back while laughing. 

She wasn’t stopping though, she was going to Derek’s and she wasn’t leaving until she got the answera she needed. Then Derek Hale could go fuck himself. Or whoever else he wanted to. As whatever fucking woodland creature he thought of next.

_*_*_

When she got to Derek’s she knew he wouldn’t be there, it was a Thursday afternoon, the store was open a few more hours. But she didn’t want to do this at his store; she wanted to be able to scream and shout at him all she wanted and a bookstore full of people just wouldn’t work. With her luck someone would call the cops, her dad would be the responder and she wouldn't even have the answers for her troubles.

She wandered around the outside of his house for a while, thinking and to be completly honsest, crying. This kind of shit just seemed to keep happening to her and she was starring to wonder if she was even his type at all. Being a virgin she had imagination and could easily fantasize about different sex positions, but what she saw in the picture made her thoughts seem rather vanilla. 

While she waited, she text Scott to let him know she was okay, that she was waiting to talk to Derek but not to tell her dad where she was. She just wanted someone to know. He convinced her to tell her dad something or she would be able to expect half of the Beacon Hills’ sheriff’s deparment up her ass before she accomplished whatever it was she was hoping today.

She text her dad after that, explained that while she knew she was still grounded she had to get some things sorted out, that she really needed him to trust her and that she would be fine with going back to being grounded forever after this. 

[We are going to talk about this when I get off shift tomorrow. Be safe and make good choices. Love you kid.] 

She couldn’t help but smile at that, she knew her dad was trying his best, in his own way.

When Derek finally pulled up the dirt path in front of his house, she was sitting on the first step of his porch, drawing nameless doodles in the dirt with a stick. While she had been waiting it seemed that all the anger and tension had been sapped from her body but now that he was here, it all came rushing back.

Once Derek was out of his car, his tall frame was haloed by the bright lights of the Camero before they finially went out just as he reached her feet. She stood in front of him, clapping her hands together to remove the dust from her palms and shake out the nervous energy that had been building inside of her.

“Stiles, why are you here? What’s wrong?”

Stiles peered up at him, even as scared and flushed full of angry emotions she couldn’t deny he was beautiful in the soft light the sun gave as it started going down for the day. She wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong, that she was just there on teenage impulses that everything would be made fine again if he just pulled her close and kissed her.

But she knew she couldn’t go back, that she couldn’t forget no matter how being near him called out to her soul like a wounded animal. 

She made herself say the words that would bring her world come crashing down, “We need to talk Derek.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this story was tagged explicit, and while no one has complained thus far lol, I just feel compelled to offer up some sort of explination (er...excuse?). I was torn between making this chapter an epiclly long one or a couple shorter ones. Clearly these two kids have some things to work out, but I think my biggest issue I’m having (besides the obvious relationship problems) is which POV should the scene take place from? Derek’s or Stiles’? Does anyone have a preference? Just curious. 
> 
> I'm not really even sure if I’ll have a choice in the end lol this story has taken a lot more turns than I had even intended it to, but it never hurts to have imput. :)


	7. Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready to delve in deep to the mind of Derek Hale! This one just kind of rushed out of me and it had to be from Derek in the end. We will hear from Stiles next ;)

Never in the history of life has a conversation ever gone well that started with the phrase, ‘We need to talk’. From the look in Stiles’ eyes and the bitter scent of disappointment in the air all around her, Derek would bet his bookstore that history was about to repeat itself.

“Does your dad know you’re here?”

“Of sorts, he’s granted me a day pass from my current serving sentence.” There was none of the usual humor in Stiles’ sarcasm, leaving a hole in the conversation that she normally overflowed with. She turned and gestured to his own locked front door. “Can we go inside, or do we have to do this on your front lawn?”

Derek raised an eyebrow at that, “Are we going to have a physical fight on our hands?”

“The urge to at least slap you has crossed my mind more than once.” Though her words were quiet and leveled out, a sharp swell of anger rolled off of her with a force that might as well have been a slap. 

Derek was beyond confused, he had never seen her ao angry, so hurt or lost before. He couldn't imagine what he had done to deserve this kind of assault from her but clearly he was the sole focus of her pain. 

“Stiles, I’m sorry I’ve kept my distance, I was just trying to respect your dad’s-“

“Bullshit.”

The single word cut him off faster than a sharp edged knife. “Excuse me?”

“I did not stutter.” Her eyes blazed as fiercely as her tone. “And anyway this is not about that - well not totally. You really want to start this out here? It’s getting dark and I can hardly see your face anymore.”

Even more lost than before and trying to search his memory for something during their last interlude together thar could have caused this level of hostility - especially two weeks after the fact - Derek forced himself to move past her and open the door. He stood to the side and she breezed inside like she had been there a hundred times before instead of only once. 

She fliped the tarp out of the way and disappeared into the den. He could hear the click of the lamp beside his reading chair being clicked on. Steeling himself for what was clearly going to be a long night, one where he was going to be the one constently trying to catch up, and shut the door behind himself.

He could hear her agitation through the walls and could smell her varried, yet hostile, emotions filling every crevice of his home. For weeks after this was over, he would be forced to relive it, made to breathe in her pain.

He tossed his keys onto the kitchen island and pulled back the tarp enough so he could enter. Stiles’ looked like a caged animal as she paced around the small room, chewing at the skin and the nail of her thumb.

Her buzzed hair was a little longer than he was used to seeing, like she forgot to taper it back down, but it still suited her. Everthing seemed to suit her. She was wearing jeans that were faded and looked well worn in, along with a plain dusty green teeshirt and dirty lace up shoes. She looked ordinary and stunning at the same time and he wasn’t quite sure how she did that.

“What is wrong? I clearly did something, but if you don’t tell me, I can’t fix it.”

She stopped pacing then and glared at him, thumb poised in the air, forgotten by Stile’s mouth. “You can’t fix this, Derek. Fixing implies that while something was once broken it can be repaired, you won’t be able to repair this.”

“Then why come here?” His level of frustration was starting to match the level of curiosity within him. What could he have possibly done while avoiding her that he couldn’t fix?

“I want an explanation, I need to know why,” Her lip wobbled and she covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes for a moment, taking long breaths before she opened them again. Her eyes were wet but on fire again. “I thought you wanted me. Every time we got near each other, it felt like fire. It felt like we were going to rip our clothes off each other, but it never happened. Your brain or my dad got in the way and still, I thought you wanted me.”

“Who says I didn’t?” Derek pauses and the requalified the question, “Who says I don’t?”

“Do you, Derek? Do you want me?” She crossed her arms under her chest and peered at him hard, reading each fleck of his face. 

“I, yeah, but I mean it's not that simple.” He hated that he stammered, that she had him so keyed up he couldn’t seem to focus on where she was leading them to.

“But it is that simple, you either want me or you don’t, so which is it? Don’t give me any bullshit about my dad or my age or whatever other hang up you like to play around with in your head. Yes or no, do you want me?”

Derek stared at her then, even a whole head shorter than him she was standing up to him like she was a Golioth and he was a mouse. All the sharp features of her face seemed more pronounced in this moment and she looked fierce, she glowed with it. Hell yeah he wanted her.

“Yes,” was all he said, afraid to say more than that.

“Yes,” Something in her expression softened before it shifted again, making Derek dizzy trying to keep up. He may have gained a little ground with his confession but he was still clearly losing.

“Then why did you fuck her?”

The question punched him so hard in the gut he actually took two steps back. “What?” 

Stiles glared at him again before schooling her features into something so pleasant, so fake, that he almost wished she would just keep glaring - at least then he could understand what he was seeing. 

“Let me help refresh your memory,” she reached into her back pocket as she stepped towards him, unfolding a small but thick piece of paper, no a photo. 

She handed it to him with shaky fingers and he nearly missed it when she let go, it was upside down and backwards but when he righted it, he was nearly ready to break into song because he had never seen this grainy image of a girl before in his life.

“I have no idea who this is, I’ve never met her before.” He tried to hand back the photo, ready to end this tension between them but she only held her palm up, the photo bending against the resistance but still in his possession.

“The background, Derek, look at the background.” The look on her face, the betrayal, told him that he already knew what he was going to see. 

He didn’t want to look but he knew she expected him to, needed him to see what she now had to bare in her mind for a lifetime. Forcing himself to look past the teenager riding a horse-man, he found himself easily in the background. Nearly fully shifted and clearly engaged in a very intimate position with the woman bent over the table. 

“Damnit, I’m so sorry.” He looked up at her sniffle, watched her banish tears away with both hands before crossing her arms under her chest again.

“What’s her name? Is she your girlfriend?”

“What? No. I, I don't know what her name is. She gave me a play name, like Sugar or Star or something like that. I gave a fake name too, that is part of the point of theae places - anonymity. Or, supposedly,” The irony was not lost on Derek. 

The club was crowded that weekend, more so than even usual and the lights were bouncing off all the walls in a way that Derek would have never been able to tell the difference between cameras flashing or strobe lights. Obviously.

“I never bothered with getting her real name because I didn’t plan on seeing her again. She doesn’t mean anything.” He took a step closer, crumbling the photo and tossing it onto the floor, Stiles’ eyes followed the action.

“Then why do it at all? I was right here, willing participant.” When gave a weak raise of her hand before letting both of her arms fall at her side. “How long after - after we were together did you go get her?”

Derek didn’t want to answer that, because he knew no matter what he said it wouldn’t be the wrong answer.

“I need to know why Derek, talk to me! Tell me what that no name hooker has that’s I couldn’t give you?” The hurt in her voice cut him to the core and he couldn’t look into her watery brown eyes any longer. “Was it the dress up thing?”

That’s brought Derek’s gaze back to hers again, genuinely frowning in confusion. “Dress up?”

“The,” She made a full body gesture with her hand. “You know, the wolf costume or whatever that was - looked like a kind of wolf. I never thought about it before, but if that’s what you’re into, you could have at least asked me.”

Awareness settled on him and he wondered why that wasn’t the first concern to hit him when he saw that photo, he was just so damn upset with himself for being photographed at all that it got pushed to the background of his mind. 

That’s was after all, why he went there and not just any random sex club. He wanted a place where he could shift and no one would ask questions- he was just another fetish obsessed customer in a sea of them there.

“It’s not, it’s hard to explain.” He scratched the back of his head, not really how he had even gotten to this place. What was he still doing here?

“Well I need you to figure it out really fast. Because so far, you’re not loosing any asshole points in my book.” She rubbed her face, trying to scrub away the tear track marks and frustration. “God I hate crying, my head is pounding.”

“I’ll get you some aspirin.” He needed a distraction anyway, because what the hell was he supposed to tell her? He felt like his world, which he had carefully constructed, was starting to fall through his fingers like sand.

The smell of her sorrow was such a strong and pungent one, it was almost as shocking as the level of her anger. They had only shared a couple of intimate moments since they met, and yet if rolls had been reversed - he heard glass cracking and looked down to see splintered lines under the pads of his fingers. A fraction more force and he would have had shattered glass to clean up on top of the mess in his den. 

Sighing he set the glass into the sink to deal with later and retreaved another one, filling it with water and grabbing aspirin before taking another steeling breath. He had dealt with far worse people in his life that affected him far less than what Stiles’ was doing right now. He supposed that meant something big, but he didn’t have the time to analyze it here and now.

When he entered the den he found her sitting on the edge of his chair, elbows proped up on her knees and her head in her hands. She looked up at him and he could see the way crying had made her face softer, if not slightly puffy, and he could see the drying tracks on bet cheeks from her tears. He wanted to wipe all the evidence that he had caused her this pain away, instead he just handed her the two asprin and the water before turning stand infront of the front window.

She was quite for several minutes he could hear her swallowing the water behind him before he heard the glass settle onto the table.

“I need you to talk yo me Derek. I know it isn’t your favorite hobby but I don’t deserve this. I need you to find the words to explain why you were with her -“ She cut herself off for a second and Derek could hear the gears turning in her head from here. 

He turned to see a realization coming over her of somekind and he didn’t need hightened senses to know it would be bad for him. “What?”

“The first time I was here, when you were fixing my tire, all the sudden you got all squirrly and made this - I thought at rhe time totally random - declaration that you just had to go out of town for a few days.”

Fuck. 

Her eyes flicked to the crumpled up photo on the floor before meeting his eyes again. “You went there that weekend too, didn’t you?” 

Derek thought he might actually drown under the rip tide of her emotions crashing and rolling over him. And fuck if he wouldn’t deserve it. 

She shook her head, eyes wide in disbelief, his silence all the answer she needed. “Why even bother with me at all? If you have these ‘professionals’ at your whim, why mess with a seventeen year old girl who runs off at the mouth and can’t seeem to keep your attention. Am I some kind of distraction for you?”

“Yes,” She was the one who now looked like she’d been slapped by his words. “But not in the way you’re thinking. I never intended to spend time with any women here - this is my home. I like it here, which is the first time I’ve said that in a long time. It’s just, easier, a lot easier to go out of town for those kinds of things than to risk fucking it up.”

“Then why me?” Having her sit in the deep arm chair should have made the situation less intense but she has filled ever inch of this room with herself, and even stationary it felt like she was towering over him. “Why am I the lucky girl who gets to kiss you one minute only to have you fuck some other girl two counties over?”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Because you’re you, Stiles. You push my buttons, piss me off, you don’t take silence as a cue to leave me alone like most people in this town, you invade my brain.” There were more reasons but he cut himself of abruptly, realizing that it wasn’t really a list that was complimentary though it definitely wasn’t meant to be insulting.

“I see.” He looked over to see her staring off into the distance, one foot bouncing wildly in front of her while another hand drummed fingers on the arm of the chair. She looked exhausted but clearly still agitated. When she met his gaze again, there was less heat than before but he could still smell it simmering beneath the surface. “Why the wolf costume?”

“What?” He has never met anyone who could change topics so quickly and so randomly, he was slightly terrified of what a single night in Stile’s brain must be like. She mildly guestured to the crumpled up photo again. “Oh.” 

“Oh,” She was mocking him and he rolled his eyes. “Ironic that I call you Sourwolf only to find out you have a fetish for being a wolf.” 

His mouth went rigid at the reminder of the petname, but now was not the time to deal with that he supposed. “It’s not a fetish.”

“So what, is it a ‘lifestyle choice’?” She shook her head and looked away. “I’d like to think I’m a pretty understanding person, but it’s really hard to be understanding when I have no facts to go on.”

“It’s complicated.”

She leveled him with a cool look. “So uncomplicated it, you can use big words or small ones, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to keep up. Talk. To. Me.” She enunciated each word like a skilled surgeon cutting him open to see his deepest parts.

“You, I,” he paused, shoved a hand in his hair and told himself that he should have just packed a bag and left the night the sheriff let him go.

It had seemed like an act of god that he wasn’t being shoved into the back of the patrol car that night, hell when he got home he actually did pack bags. But then he had stood in his house that he’d been working on for nearly two years, thought of his store, thought about how much he would actually miss this little town, and he stayed. 

He was now at a crossroads, because surely if he told Stiles the truth he would have to leave, but if he didn’t tell her there would be no doubt that bridge would burn tonight. And being the sheriff’s daughter, it might ultimately lead to his having to leave in order to keep people from poking where he didn’t want them to.

“The thing is. I’ve never told anyone about my past, not one person. And the few time I thought someone got too close, I just moved.”

“So why are you still here?” She sounded small, far away, her eyes staring too hard at the wall of books that he knew she wasn’t seeing.

“Because of you, Stiles.” He watched a rogue tear fall down her cheek before she wiped it away with a rough motion. When she met his gaze, there was a hollowness there that he hated seeing, hated that he put it there.

“I can’t feel flattered at the moment, I just need to process that later. Right now, I need you to make a choice. Either you tell me what the hell is going on with you, or we have to say goodbye because the longer this drags out, the worse I feel.” She paused for a long moment, her jaw working side to side as she took him in - almost like she was as trying to memorize the way he looked right in this moment - with wet unshed tears. “And the more I start to hate you.”

He was pretty sure the words were intended to hurt, because fuck they did, finding their target in his chest with skilled precision. He swallowed down the urge to grab hold of her and force her to forgive him - he knew that would never actually work, but the urge was so shockingly tangible that he had to make himself to lean against the wall by the window and shove his hands into his front pockets.

“Stiles, my past isn’t just a sad story about a kid who lost his parents and had to rough it on his own. It’s goes much deeper than that.” He took a deep breath, willing courage into himself that he didn’t really feel at the moment. “I will literally be putting my life in your hands if you have me tell you. If I tell you and you decide to tell someone, to even tell your dad or Scott, that’s it for me. I’m not exaggerating or giving you some bullshit line. Me keeping to myself and never talking about my life before Beacon Hills wasn’t an act of being anti-social or a hermit or Justin a plain old dick. It’s has been self preservation, keeping to myself has kept me alive.” 

She was quite for several heartbeats, her foot still bouncing but her fingers had stopped their drumming. She pressed a hand to her knee, stilling the erratic motions only to have it start again when she lifted her hand to scratch behind her ear.

“You can’t ask me to keep a secret I’ve not yet heard, that isn’t fair of you. I will promise that if I can keep it, I will, even if it still means the end of the line for us.” Her mouth twisted a little at that thought, but she pressed on. “You’re just going to have to trust I’ve never lied to you-“

“Yes you have,” her expression was one of disbelief as she searched her memories for a possible false statement. “The day I changed you’re tire, I told you not to be scared of me and you said you weren’t, that was a lie.”

She stared at him in surprise as she was no doubt remembering that day, their conversations by the back of the Jeep. “How did you know that was a lie?”

He couldn’t help the quirk of his mouth at that question, “Basic powers of deductions could figure that one out.” He sighed when she shook her head, annoyed. “But I also know for a certainty that you’ve never lied to me otherwise.”

“Another deduction, Mr. Holmes?”

“Are you always so sarcastic?”

Her eyes slid to his and the way the light was angled at the side of her face caused them to have an amber glow that let him see each ridge and valley even where he stood.

“Against you? Sarcasm is my only defense.” She looked away again, like the statement revealed too much about herself.

“I’ll tell you,” He didn’t know what wasn’t coming over him, he had never put his life on the line like was about to do now, but once the decision was out there, he almost felt ready to tell someone. To tell Stiles. “The fact that this is a long story, is putting it mildly. Are you sure you want to do this now? I will still tell you tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever you’re ready.”

“You just told me you have a bad habit of Runaway Bride-syndrome, I’m not leaving here without the full story. So if it’s a long one, lets order pizza.” She was already standing to fish the phone from her pocket.

“Nothing delivers out here, I’ll cook us something.”

“You cook?” Stiles was hot on his tail and he couldn’t hold in the snort of laughter, both from her seemly easy transition into a lighter subject and her obvious excitement for food.

“Yes, I’m not a trained chef or anything but I can make basic foods.” He opened the fridge to see what he had to offer and heard the scrape of one of the bar stools under the island being pulled out. “Anything you want in particular?”

“No, Stilinski’s aren’t very picky eaters. If it’s in front of me, I’ll usually eat it.” 

“Not something I’ve heard many women admit,” He grabbed a few ingredients out before shutting the door and moving to the sink to wash his hands. “The list of acceptable foods is usually much smaller than the unacceptable ones.”

“What can I say, I’m a lost cause when it comes to food. My only salvation is my insane metabolism, which will probably come back to haunt me one day. But until then, I’ll eat bread.”

Derek shook his hands in the sink and dried them off, thinking why it couldn’t have been this easy before now? Why did it take him hurting her so badly to be in this space, talking casually about something like food. It almost felt like it had always been like that.

“Where did you go, Sourwolf?” Her voice was soft, coercing him back to the present and when he looked at her she was resting her chin on one of her propped up palms. 

“Distracted I guess, but I’m back.” He turned away from her, opening drawers to pull out knives and a cutting board but then remembering to pull out a big pot and filling it with water. “If bread is ok, then I assume pasta is as well.”

“Sure, I just cannot imagine Derek Hale eating pasta.” When he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows she matched him fraction for fraction. “All those carbs - your body looks like it hasn’t seen carbs in years.” 

He hoped it didn’t show that he liked her appreciating the way he looked, turning the faucet off quickly and placing the pot onto the open flame. “Everything in moderation, I suppose.”

She hummed on that for a minute, “So I hope you don’t think food is going to get you out of this, you can start taking your epic tale at any time.”

He sighed, hands resting on the edge of the stove for a minute, listening to the water start to simmer at the very bottom of the pot. Finally he nodded and moved back over to the cutting board, slicing and dicing vegetables. It helped in a way, not having to look at her, having something for his hands and mind to focus on instead of the ever present drum of her heart beating. 

“So, I was a pretty normal kid: parents, sisters, backyard with a swing set in it. But we lived in an over populated area that was going down faster than anyone could think to save it.” He pauses in his chopping to grab a sauce pan, placing it on a second eye of the stove and started dumping the cut up vegetables in it before slicing more.

“My parents were killed when I was almost ten, at the time we were told it was an accident - victims of a drive by gang turf shooting - though as an adult I’m not sure if I believe that was complete true.”

“God Derek, I’m so sorry.” 

He nodded, pausing in his cutting to let the warmth of her sympathy wash over him, it felt like she had reached out and hugged him. And perhaps, if he had told her this story under different circumstances she might have actually done so, but he couldn’t blame her for keeping rooted where she was - no doubt afraid if she distracted him that he might not finish. It was probably close to the truth.

His throat felt tight as he thought of his parents, for the first time in a long time, thought of what kind of life he might have had if they had survived. He cleared his throat and went back to the task at hand, “We were always poor but happy. I don’t remember a lot of my childhood but I remember feeling happy. I remember my parents were good people, who loved us.”

“What were their names? And your sisters’ names?”

“My parents names were Talia and Luke, and my sisters’ names were Cora and Laura.”

“Were? I thought you said only your parents were killed.”

Derek didn’t respond for several minutes, putting the last of the vegetables in the sauce pan along with a few other things before putting a lid to cover it, and cleaning up the small mess he’d made preparing them.

“When my parents died we were put into child protective services, then split into different foster homes. I don’t know what happened to them after that. I tried looking for years but the system is so big and who knows how many homes they were moved to over the years before they turned eighteen.”

“Shit,” He did hear the scrape of her chair then, felt the warmth of her body as she pressed against his back and pressed her palms against his chest, he covered her hands with one of his own and closed his eyes. He never would have expected that talking about something that happened so long ago could feel so fresh and new.

With her chest pressed firmly against his back he could feel the steady drum of her heartbeat and it soothed the open wound much more than it probably should have. 

He looked down at the pale skin of her hands against his dark shirt and couldn’t help rubbing a thumb back and forth over the soft skin. She was on the verge of hating him - with good reasons - and yet she was setting that aside to comfort him. No pretext and asking for nothing but the truth from him. 

“I was adopted just a few months after I went into the system, a couple came in and said I was everything they had hoped for. They wanted a little boy just like me and it seemed like a perfect ending to what had been a horrible set of events in my life. They showed me pictures of a room covered in comic book posters and toys piled in every corner of the room. They had a picture of a yellow bike with a red bow on it - said I was probably too little for it then but they could tell I’d be riding it’s by the following summer. It all seemed, perfect.”

Stiles slid her hands from under his, stepping back and pulling at his shoulder to get him to face her. “Why do I get a bad feeling about this?”

Derek crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter next to the stove, abstractly listening for the water to start boiling so he could drop the pasta in. He licked his lips and found himself staring at their shoes. 

“This is the part where things start getting harder to believe. It’s, it sounds more like a science fiction plot than reality.” He did look up then, needing her to see the truth in his eyes, hoping she could tell the difference between a poorly developed plotline and his life. Because this was his life.

She braced her hands on the island behind her before heaving herself onto it, the sitting position putting her more at eye level and she looked focused and open. “I’m ready, I’ve been told my deductive reasoning skills are off the charts.” 

She gave him a lopsided smile, the first since she had arrived here and he was struck by the thought of how brave she was. She came here tonight with the sole intention of confronting him and now she wasn’t putting her own feelings aside to hear and acknowledge his past. 

“You’re, I’ve never met anyone as amazing as you are.” He didn’t know exactly what made him say it out loud but the pink rings in her cheeks and the way she figited on the island made him glad he did.

“Enough flattery, back to the Hale saga.” 

He nodded, not surprised that she didn’t want to hear nice things coming from him at the moment, she may be open to his story but that didn’t mean she would ever forgive him. He heard the water start boiling and turned to reach for the pasta in the cabinet near by, pouring it in and placing it’s own lid on the pot before starting a timer.

“So they weren’t a real couple, but a man and women sent out to find kids like me - orphans who wouldn’t be missed by anyone - and adopt them for a special program in the government.”

Stiles made a noise with her mouth that’s sounded like breaks squealing, when he turned the on look at her, she had her palms raised up in front of her as if she was going to physically stop this story. “Back the truck up, a special What in the What?”

Derek sighed, he had tried to warn her this wouldn’t make sense. “At this point, it’s just going to get more ridiculous before it starts making more sense.”

Slowly she started lowering her hands to the counter before nodding, “Okay then, best to just keep going then I guess.” She definitely didn’t look like she’s belived it’s was the best idea. 

“So, this program, it didn’t seem like the worst thing in the world at first. Granted my room wasn’t filled with posters of comic book heros, instead filled with bunk beds and other kids they had gotten with the same scheme. But it’s was clean clothes, warm beds, food and there were lots kids near my age group. But not my sisters.” 

He looked off into the distance, remembering how many hours he had spent searching every bunk for any sign of his sisters, and how many subsequent years he spent mourning their absence in his life.

“At first they kept us busy with education and physical fitness, many of the kids were malnourished and I guess it was just easier to acclimate to a life we were sort of used to school and running around.”

“How many kids were with you?”

“About fourty or so, when I first arrived, but that number went up and down often.”

The timer went off and Derek busied himself with getting the pasta drained and back into the pot before he checked on the sauce. After tasting it he decided it was ready and grabbed plates of the cabinet, piling food on one before Stiles slid off the island to take it from him, offering to get the silverware if he pointed it out.

After a few ments of moving around the kitchen in comfortable silence, only asking if that was enough food for Stiles and where Derek kept his glasses, they both sat on the barstools at the island next to each other.

“Thanks,” Stiles offered quitely, twisting around and then blowing on some spagetti before taking a bite. “It’s good, very good.” 

Derek offered a breif but pleased smile before turning back to his own plate of food.

“Can I ask you a question?” Derek gestured to his food, adding, “You know, just while we eat?”

Stiles twirled her fork into the noodles over and over again while she thought and then shrugged. “Sure, I suppose it’s like a commercial break.”

Derek snorted, “Sometimes I have no idea what you’re saying.”

She grinned widely at that, “It’s one my favorite qualities, I keep people guessing.”

“That you do,” he mused on that quietly for a moment as he ate another bite.

“So, what’s the question?” Stiles sipped her drink and Derek couldn’t help but stare at the column of her neck, admiring the muscles moving as she swallowed.

He had to refocus on his dinner plate to keep his thoughts from going to places they shouldn’t. “I was wondering about your name, it’s not a typically girls name, does it mean something?”

She gave him a lopsided smile and nodded as she poked around her plate. “It’s not my real name, my legal name is Polish and very hard to pronounce.” She gave a soft laugh to herself. “In fact when I was little the closest I could get to saying my real name was mischief. My mom used to call me that all the time.”

It was a sweet memory, and while he could smell the tinge of sadness coming from her, her heart beat was strong and uplifted. No doubt it was bitter sweet for her.

“Can you pronounce it now?” He paused and then decided to add, “If you want to tell me, if it’s a personal memory with your mom I understand.”

She nodded, glancing at him before taking another bite of her dinner. “Maybe I’ll tell you in the future, but right now, I’m my head I can still hear my mom saying my name. I’m not sure I’m ready to hear someone else talk over her, even if it is you.”

He tried to keep from speculating about that statement, but it was hard when she mentioned ‘futures’ and that he might be someone she would one day want to share that secret with. 

“I think the nickname mischief fits you well, she was very fortuitous. Yeah she was a smart lady.” She had a sad smile and wouldn’t meet his eye but she continued on. “Since mom was the only one who called me mischief, everyone else needed to call me something, so Stiles was born. It’s just short for Stilinski, but I think it suits me in the end.” She gave a small shrug against the matter.

He was about to ask her another question when she pushed back the stool and stood up grabbing her plate and guesturing for his. “Are you finished, or will you be making a second round?”

“No, I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

“You cooked, I’ll wash dishes.” 

It was such a simple task and yet it felt oddly domesticated: Derek cooking dinner for the two of them, talking mildly to Stiles and now she was cleaning up after them. It was something he had honestly never experienced before and he was glad she couldn’t hear the way his heartbeat kicked up two or three notches in something he could only describe but affection.

Watching her stand at the sink, back to him, he could openly observe her. She had calmed down quite a bit since she first arrived but the scent around her was still filled with agitation and discontentment - something he knew he was the source of. Still there was a tiny ember of something sweeter deep deep under all of that and he tried to label but it was too minimal to make out at the moment.

He had grown to really appreciate her form, the almost athletic way she was built - though he had gathered enough information about her to know she was only athletic in theory. Unless sarcasm was considered a sport, then she would be team captain and MVP. 

“You’re staring, Sourwolf.”

“I really don’t care for that name.”

“That’s just too bad, because it suits you and unless I think of something else that fits you better, I think it sticks.” She glanced at him over her shoulder and it was far far sexier than it should have been - not the standing at the sink washing dishes, just the pure act of looking at him with defiance in her eyes but a crooked smile on her lips. 

It was almost like a dare to challenge her decision. And it would be a lie if he said that the more animal side of himself didn’t posture a little at the blatant challenge of authority but Derek pushed it down, knowing that she wasn’t actually trying to control him. He tried to reason with himself that at least she was still here, at least she wasn’t talking about how much she hated him and she hinted that maybe there could be future days ahead.

It was just uncertain in what capacity she would let him to continue in her life as.

Once dishes were done and leftovers were put away Stiles turned to him with hands shoved into her pockets and looked a little lost in his kitchen. “So, the saga continues - but where should we go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to stay in the kitchen? Go back You your library? Somewhere else in the house?”

“The only other finished room, besides the bathroom, is my bedroom.” His eyes drifted upward to the open air loft that would look down on the kitchen before looking back at Stiles.

“Your bedroom is up there?” She pointed but was already heading for the stairs. Halfway up she paused and turned to him. “Sex is way off the table tonight, but I wouldn’t mind sitting somewhere more comfortable together. If that is okay with you.”

Derek nodded, “It’s okay.” That was only a partial lie as he stood to follow her up to his room. He understands that sex isn’t really an option until she knows everything about why he slept with those girls - among other things. But the territorial portion of him was anxious about having her smells fill the room and seep into his bedding.

She took a breif look around, noting the minimal furniture and current lack of pictures or decorations before her eyes settled on his queen size bed. She noted that he had a stack of books on the left side and moved to the right before toeing her shoes off and settling herself against the headboard, adjusting pillows behind her back.

“Is this okay?” She really didn’t look ready to move but the uptick in her pulse said she needed reassurance that he really was ok with this invasion of his personal space.

He nodded before sitting at the foot of the bed, unlacing his shoes and pulling them of. He turned and faced her, folding his legs Indian-style and resting his elbows on his knees.

If she was disappointed that he was sitting so far away her pulse gave nothing away. She crossed her ankles, a move that caused him to zero in on her impossibly long legs before he forced himself to look at his own hands. 

“Where did I even leave off?”

“You said there were fourty-ish kids who were getting beds and educations from this program you were forced into.” It was probably the most succinct version of his life that he had heard.

“Right, well it didn’t take long before staying active turned into rigid workout routines and we were being given pills that we were told were supplements but looking back, they were basically some special form of steroid.”

Stiles didn’t say anything but she distinctly looked at his bicep, which was not as large as when he was constantly working out at the facility, but still probably larger than her school friends. She looked back at his eyes, clearly decided on waiting for more explanations.

“After that came the injections and for those who survived the side effects got more injections and finally a surgery that would splice human DNA with that of an animal - one that had far better senses, speed and strength.”

“A wolf.” Derek’s eyebrows rose at the calm tone in her voice, though her eyes were out of focus. Her dedication skills were pretty great.

Derek nodded, and while Stiles stayed stone still, her heartbeat was growing more and more erratic “Are you okay, Stiles? Your heartbeat is going crazy.”

Her eyes snapped to his, “You can sense my heartbeat? From all the way over there? Without even touching me? How?”

Her rapid fire questions were not a surprise to him, he expected there would be a lot more questions before things were all said and done. 

“Yes, I can sense your heartbeat, it’s part of my enhancements. It helps me to me to know if someone is telling the truth or not.”

“So you can just walk past someone on the street and know if they are a liar?”

“Sort of, it’s a little, it works best if I have spent time with the person first. Then I can tell what their resting heart rate is, which is usually their heart rate when they are telling the truth. From there it is easier to tell the difference between lies and anxiety, things like that.”

“That’s crazy!” Her brown eyes were wide and she was sitting more at attention, yet she didn’t yet seem scared of him, he knew that would come soon enough. “What else can you do?”

“I can hear far better than anyone you’re likely to meet, I can hear heartbeats through walls if I focus hard enough. I can run faster, jump further and see farther than most people could ever wish to do so.” He hesitate tell her the next part, because while she may have found the heartbeat talent interesting, she would probably find the next part harder to believe and even worse, possibly consider him a pervert or something. “I can also, smell emotions.”

Her eyebrow rose in a gesture that spoke volumes of her skepticism. “Emotions have smells?”

Derek sighed and nodded, picking at an nonexistent rogue thread on his comforter. “I’m sure you’ve heard of pheromones and the effects that it can have on the opposite sex in nature.”

He looked up and she nodded, shifting in her seat until she had one of her knees proped up and rested her chin on it.

“Basic human emotions work in a similar way. We are all emitting a sort of scent depending on what we are feeling - anger, fear, happiness, lust -“

“Wait, lust?” Her cheeks colored as the she no doubt had a flash of their last encounter togerher. “So when we were together, you could smell-“ She made a groan of embarrassment and covered her face with a hand. “That is a wholly unfair advantage that you can tell that.” Her head popped up as a new thought crossed her mind. “What does it smell like?”

If he could blush, this would have been the moment for it to happen. “Um, well it’s sweet. It kind of reminds me of honeysuckle in summer.”

He didn’t need a distinct sense of smell to recognize the amusement that crossed her features. “Why Derek Hale, that was very poetic of you.” 

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the quirk of his lips. It did sound like something out of a sappy romance novel. “On the other side, I have been suffocating in the anger and disappointment you’ve had all around you tonight. Even after you leave, it will take weeks for that to leave these rooms.”

Her amusement softened and turned thoughtful again. “I wish I could be sorry, but I can’t yet.” He nodded, didn’t expect her to be sorry about it. “What does disappointment smell like?”

“Probably a bit like you would expect, it’s sharp and almost sour. Everyone has a natural scent that is distinctly their own, and our emotions color those natural scents for the good or the bad.”

“And mine would be? You know, when I’m not pissed off at you.” She gave him another of her lopsided smiles.

He thought about the first time he met Stiles in his store, besides how strikingly beautiful she was, he had honed in on how pure she smelled. “Light, very bright. Maybe like clean laundry or flowers that have a soft smell.” He frowned at himself, thinking he was sounding very contradictory. “It’s hard to explain.”

“I think I get it.” She pondered on it some more, her chin again resting on her knee. “Ok, we can come back to that, is there more?”

He scratched the back of his neck before nodding. “All of this is part of changes they made in my DNA, and with that came more pronounced physical changes. They wanted an army of soldiers who could blend in and look like everyone else one minute - collect data and take advantage of having keener senses - and the next transform into a more beastly version of ourselves. To be able to over take those we were sent after with ease.”

Derek let the words marinate in the air, listening to Stiles’ heartbeat and noting the changing scents around her. He could tell the exact moment when she put two and two together. 

Her head came off her knee and she looked at him with a deep frown, a thick scent of confusion around her. “That costume, in the club picture -“

He picked up where her voice trailed off, “It wasn’t a costume, just me. I can shift into a wolf form when needed.”

“What?” She climbed off the bed and started pacing, looking at him every few steps before looking away and pacing some more. She stopped and pointed a finger at him, hurt starting to well up in her features, “Did she know it was you?”

He shook his head, grimacing at the reality of it. “I found out years ago that I have to stick to places like that, so people just think I have a fetish instead of scaring them.”

She nodded, eyes going distant and finger falling down before she started pacing again, chewing on the skin of her thumb as she had in the past. “Why one of those places at all? Can you only have sex if you’re, you know, a wolf?”

He shook his head, and resisted the phrase ‘its complicated’ because this whole conversation was complicated. “I can mostly control the shifting back and forth, but once a month it is nearly impossible. It would be the time that - if I was still at the facility - they would give me more suppression injections. To control what they mildly refer to as ‘unexpected side effects’ of blending a wolf’s DNA with my own. Because I don’t get those injections anymore, I found it to be less traumatic to more or less embrace that part of me so I don’t do something stupid.”

“Stupid like what?” 

Derek thought for a long moment how best to explain that, “Wolves are very emotion driven creatures. They are territorial and can be dangerous but they also are task driven. When they don’t have a task, the other parts of them start taking over. Like looking for fights and the urge to,” he paused and considered whether or not he was really going to say this out loud. After looking at Stiles’ focused and yet mostly impassive face, he knew if there was anyone to tell, she might be one who understood or at least accepted it. “The urge to claim and mate.”

Her brows shot up and color bloomed on her cheeks and across her collar bone. “Oh, that’s intense.”

He gave her a clear expression of ‘tell me about it’.

“So once a month you have to go to a sex club to get out your wolf’s urges so you don’t just claim some girl off the street or pick a fight for no reason?”

He nodded, “Not exactly how I’d like to meet people but that’s basically the extent of it.”

She was nodding with him, pacing again and he could practically hear the wheels turning in her head.

“I can’t believe you're still here.”


	8. Stiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for another long one! This time it’s Stiles’ turn to decide how everything goes down.

“ _I can’t believe you’re still here.”_

Stiles honestly could see why he was surprised. He had warned her that his story wasn’t something that was just a simple sob story and god he didn’t disappoint in that.

“I told you, I’m not leaving until I get all the answers. I have spent my whole life feeling plain, undesired and I got used to it. And then I met you, and it was different. There were moments I felt sexy even. But then I would get cast aside with out a single explination as to why. I can’t do it anymore.”

“I never meant to treat you like that.”

She looked away, not ready to deal with the emotions that went with all that. Especially in front of a man who now admitted he was basically an emotional psychic. God, the things she had thought about in front of him! He knew it the whole time.

“Can I see it?” Looking back at him, she saw the war of indecision in his eyes. “You can control it, right?”

“Yes,” his tone reflected total confidence and still looked unsure.

“What is the problem then?”

“I guess, I just don’t want to see that the way you look at me will change. The way my body shifts is meant to incite fear, I’ve watched the blood drain from peoples faces when they see it. I don’t want you to have nightmares with my face in them.”

Stiles chewed her lip, it didn’t paint a pretty picture and while she didn’t know all the facets that made up Derek Hale, she felt that she knew enough about him - especially now - that his perception must be skewed.

She moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed, a whole body could fit between them, but it was still meant to be a gesture of trust.

“Let me decide what will or won’t color my dreams. Show me.”

He looked like he was about to refuse her, brows furrowing as he searched her eyes, no doubt searching her heartbeat and her scent for a lie. He wouldn’t find it.

He nodded and closed his eyes, at first she didn’t see anything different about him but in the next moment his shoulders got broader, hair started covering his arms and parts of his face. His nose became ever so slightly longer and blunter. She could see the tips of canine teeth start to peek through the seam of his lips. His nails tapered and elongated to claw-like shapes and when he turned in his sat until his legs hung off the side of the bed beside hers, she saw that his jeans were struggling to keep the broadening of his thighs covered.

When he finally opened his eyes and met her gaze, they were the brilliant iridescent ruby red she that kept playing tricks on her from time to time.

She couldn’t help the gasp and grin when she saw them. “I knew it.”

He frowned at her, “You knew what?”

“There were several times your eyes seemed to play tricks on me, these flashes of brilliant red before they turned green again. I kept telling myself I was seeing things, but sometimes it just seemed impossible that I could keep seeing the same red again and again.

He looked befuddled at that, “I didn’t realize you ever saw it. It’s something I’ve worked for years to never let show. You just get under my skin sometimes.”

She gave him a crooked smile, “I’m going to assume that wasn’t meant to be as insulting as it came across.” She waved away his attempt to apologize, “I’m just teasing, Sourwolf.”

He growled low in his throat and it only made her laugh under her breath and turn towards him on the bed, one foot curling under her other knee.

“I recognize that sound. Was that your wolf always growling at me, or was that you?”

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference, you definitely get a rise out of both sides.” He shook his eyes, his ruby colored eyes deepening to something less brilliant but no less beautiful. “I can’t believe you’re talking about all this like we are discussing the weather.”

“I am not saying it’s not more than slightly freaky, but I can still see you under all of this. If you were running at me with fangs out, my demenor might be slightly different.” She winked when he rolled his eyes. Her eyes dropped to his mouth and the brilliance of the white fangs that were poking out. “Can I touch them?”

He hesitated but then moved closer to her on the bed, baring his teeth and she could see why this could be a terrifying sight if it was running towards you.

She reached out, the tip of her finger sliding along the length of one fang, down to the tip and felt how sharp it was, how easily it could rip through her fragile skin if he wanted.

Without warning his head turned and snapped at her finger, narrowly missing taking it off and she jumped back, falling off the bed and giving a frightened yelp on the way down.

From her position on the floor she heard his chuckle before she saw his face. He stood and was grinning at her - which was still alarming with all those teeth, but there was nothing menacing about his posture.

“Shit. Now you got jokes,” Without hesitation she accepted his hand, her eyes becoming focused on the clawed fingers that were carefully curled around hers.

Once he had her on her feet, he tried to remove his hand but Stiles held firm. She turned the palm over in hers and lightly ghosted over the excess hair on his hand down to the hardened knuckles and lightly tracing over the curve of the nails turned claws.

“Is it difficult to control how deep you puncture skin with these?”

He nodded, “But typically speaking I only would shift into them if I intended to use them.”

“You punctured the skin on that girl.”

He grimaced and looked away, “That was her thing, she liked pain. So I just did as little as possible to - can we not talk about her anymore? It was such a mistake.”

Stiles couldn’t have agreed more about that. She looked at his shirt, the way it stretched across his chest and strained over his biceps. “Take your shirt off.”

Derek made a strangled noise. “Excuse me?”

“I want to see you, all of you. Please.” She looked into his eyes and could see the ruby color blaze a little before deepening and his nose flared several times.

He took his hand back, careful not to cut her and crossed his arms at his waist, pulling the shirt upward from the hem over his head. She could hear some of the fabric whining under the pressure.

Once he tossed the shirt aside, he stood before her with shoulders back and claws fidgety at his sides. He didn’t say or do anything while she looked her fill. She stepped forward, her fingers grazing over his chest, the hair there silvery and soft but definitely not human hair. It cleared away around his abdomen before coming back together across his hips and disappeared below his jeans.

She knew he was built, but to see him like this, he looked like something carved from stone. She could clearly define each abdominal muscle and the deep valleys between them.

Slowly she moved around him, her fingers gliding over his collar bone and his shoulder. She could feel his biceps and triceps flexing and bunching under her touch before she stepped behind him and lightly pressed both palms against his shoulder blades.

She took her time mapping out the plains and valleys of his back, trying to collect her thoughts about what she saw before her and what it meant. If twenty four hours prior someone had told her she would be physically touching a half man half wolf, she would have said they watched too many cheesy horror films while smoking pot.

But here she was, and here Derek was, and what in the hell was she supposed to do now?

Letting her hands drop she walked around to face him again. “I am sure I’m going to have a million more questions and I’m not even sure how I feel yet, but I need to stop taking in information right now. I think my brain is about to explode.”

Derek nodded before slowly shifting back, his wolf form retreating and allowing his human features to take back over.

“It’s unfair that you should be this beautiful as both a human and a wolf. One of you should be ugly as sin.”

Derek looked away, shaking his head but she could see the small smirk that played on his lips.

Looking at him standing before her with his more or less hairless body and toned figure, she was drawn to touching him again. She wasn’t sure if it was a tactile need to compare or if she just needed the contact, but either way she felt pulled to him like a magnet.

Her fingers lightly touched his chest again, his skin was much softer than she expected but so very warm and she found herself closing the space between them to lay her head against his shoulder and wrap her arms around his back.

He stood there, frozen for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her as well. His cheek coming to rest on the top of her head. His arms tightened around her and it made her feel impossibly small and safe despite the fact that she was just shown he was literally created to harm her if he chose to. She knew deep in her gut, where things often made no sense but where she could trust her instincts the most, he would never do anything to hurt her.

“I’m suddenly so exhausted, can we lay down?”

There was a beat of silence before he responded, “Won’t your dad wonder where you are?”

“He’s working the night shift, as long as I get home before he does it’ll be ok. Is it ok if I sleep here?” She looked up at him, knowing there was far more happening between them than just attraction and some trust issues.

“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m just surprised you would want to. With me.”

She could see the confusion and shadows on his face, she knew there were so many things about this man that she still needed to know but she also knew it couldn’t be all found out in one night. What she had heard so far, was enough to try for more.

Her eyes dropped to his mouth and she pushed up onto her tiptoes, offering a chaste kiss on his warm lips. The pull to linger and pretend nothing was altered between them was so strong she had to force herself back on to flat feet.

The wonder in his eyes made them almost sparkle like emeralds and he was looking at her like she was the most exotic thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Come on, Sourwolf. Keep me warm.” She extracted herself from his arms and moved to the side of the bed she started out on, pulling her phone out as setting an alarm before putting it on the night stand and then pulling down the comforter and arranging the pillows. She turned and he was still standing there watching her and she couldn’t help the laugh that came out. “Okay stalker, are you coming?”

He cleared his throat and nodded, “I’m going to shut the lights off or I’ll never sleep.”

She smiled and nodded before climbing under the sheets and making herself comfortable. It was intoxicating to be completely enveloped in that woodsy smell that she knew was Derek’s natural scent. Scent. She suddenly wondered if this was what it was like for Derek all the time - to be completely surrounded, almost distractingly so by scents.

Stiles imagined how difficult it must be to decipher a single scent from multiple ones on a streeet - it must be like walking through the purfume counters at Macy’s. It always gave her such a headache and it seemed the mixed smells lingered in her nose for hours afterward, no matter how many times she sneezed.

“I can hear you thinking from downstairs.” The darkness followed him up the stairs and she felt her heart quicken at the sight of him moving around the bed. The only person she had - platonically - slept with was Scott and she was fourteen or fifteen when that stopped as well.

“You say that to me quite a bit, can you really hear me or are you just reading my scents?” The bed dipped as he settled onto his back and she instinctively moved to his side, his arm lifting to let her make space where his shoulder curved.

Her hand smoothed across his still bare chest, enjoying the warmth and the contrast between soft skin and hard muscle underneath. Her leg wedged itself between his thighs and her ankle tucked beneath his shin. It was divine and she found her shelf shuffling closer just because being like this felt so right.

His arm closed around her hip like a vice and she froze in her movements. “If you don’t want to end this evening with me on top of you, tearing your clothes off, then you need to pick a position and stop squirming.”

The hot flush that fell over her at the complete visual image of him losing control with need just because she was pressed against his side made her want to strip just to loose a few degrees. Because damn.

She stilled though, tried to be still anyway, because her brain likes to get jumpy when she knew it needed to be calm. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, I would enjoy either out come.”

“God Derek, don’t say stuff like that.” She burried her face in his chest and could feel his light rumble of laughter. “You’re awful.” But there was no heat in her words.

They fell into a comfortable silence, listening to each other’s breathing and Derek’s hand came to rest on her own, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on her skin. It felt amazing.

“Have you ever killed anyone?” That stopped the patterns.

“Stiles,” His voice sounded pained when he said her name. “It’s late, do you really want to get into something like that now?”

She thought about it for only a second before she pushed herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. The light from the sole windows in the loft letting the partial moon ghost across his features. He wouldn’t meet her gaze, which she supposed was answer enough, but she needed to hear the words.

“Look at me, please.” It took him a long moment before he did so, his expression giving himself away. “I want to forgive, I want to move forward from this and maybe start over but I need to know you. Normally these kinds of things start with our favorite colors, favorite books and what restaurants do you like most. But I guess I’ve never been very conventional anyway,” She gave what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, but I think you need to tell someone. You’ve lived with this for I don’t even know how long. So tell me.”

His chest rose and fell under her hand still pressed there. And she could feel his heartbeat banging against her fingertips. He finally nodded and she could feel him pulling her back down until she was curled up against him again. His arm was more firmly around her, but she could tell it was more to steady himself than to keep her there.

”It wasn’t long after my surgery, so I was maybe thirteen at the time. They would put us in these rooms and make us practice shifting and fighting with our enhancements. We were all on edge and more aggressive as a result of everything they were putting in our bodies.

“I remembered thinking in my mind that I knew these kids, I didn’t want to fight them. But it was like I was locked in my own head and the wolf part of me had control. It was running on pure adrenaline and scared. 

“I don’t even remember doing it, but when I shifted back to myself I was standing over this boy I was actually kind of friends with, blood all over my hands and clothes. I realized then that this was a lesson for me - for all the kids. We were not meant to be friends, to have friends. I cried in the shower because I knew the sound of the water would drown out the sound of me mourning my friend.”

”God, Derek, I’m so sorry.”

”Thanks. I wish I could say he was the only one, but I can’t. The only thing I can say is that they all happened when I was being juiced up and treated like a rabid dog. And when I finally broke out and ran away from there two years later, I have never hurt anyone since.”

Stiles propped herself up again, needing him to see her this time. “I believe you, Derek. I believe that you didn’t ask for this or for what it made you do. I believe you and I don’t hold it against you. Okay?”

He was shaking his head and it made her frown, “I don’t deserve you.”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t believe anyone _deserves_ anyone. I think the love we give people is a gift. There is no earning it or deserving it. All we can do is cherish it and show we appreciate it.”

He nodded but she wasn’t sure he entirely belived it. She pushed forward and his mouth instinctively met hers, their lips lingering for longer this time and her hand slid from under his to where their lips met, wanting to feel the melding of their mouths.

Derek broke from the kiss first, resting their foreheads together. “Goodnight, Stiles.”

She smiled in the dark and nodded, knowing he could hear the uptick in her heartbeat. “Okay, Okay. Goodnight, Sourwolf.”

Derek didn’t even grumble at the nickname as they settled down for the night. Progress was indeed being made.

_*_*_

”I thought you had only been granted a day pass regarding me.” Derek didn’t even look up from his task when she had entered the bookstore the next afternoon after school. 

Clearly he was showing off now that she knew he could scent her easily. She didn’t need him to see her roll her eyes, it was for her own benefit to know he was ridiculous.

“Har, har.” She walked around to his side of the counter before sliding stacked books aside and lifting herself up enough to sit on top of it.

”What are you up to, Stiles?” Derek did stop what he was doing to look at her then. 

She was wearing the same denim skirt that she had worn the day they had been caught in his car along with a simple t-shirt that she fit into before she hit puberty and how it was much more fitted than before. She crossed her legs and as much as she could tell he tried not to, he was staring at them. Good.

”I came to bring a peace offering.” She popped a brown paper bag onto the stack of books he had been working through.

His eyes snapped to hers with a frown. “Peace offering for what?”

”Well I said some pretty harsh things while I was mad, I’m not a big fan of saying things like that even if it feels justified in the moment.” She held up a hand when he tried to talk over her. “Hold up, I’m not done.”

This earned her one of the glares she was starting to grow fond of. When she smiled at him, his furrow only depended.

”So distrusting, Sourwolf.” The frown escaped his face then and was replaced with an eye roll. “So anyway, I know we also went to a place that you don’t like to talk about much and it meant a lot to me. I’m still on a sort of lockdown - though dad is starting to chill a bit - but I wanted to keep our lines of communication open.”

Derek started staring at the bag suspiciously, like something might jump out and bite him. 

It was her turn to roll her eyes and she reached into the bag for him, pulling out a cellphone not unlike her own.

”Stiles, there are reasons I don’t keep a phone.” He looked at her as if she must have damaged her brain to forget that so soon.

”I know that, this is a burner phone. No contracts, no names. It can’t be traced because it just uses prepaid minutes and texting cards.” She reached in and produced a card with several of each on it. “Not the cheapest solution in the long run, but it will let me talk to you while I am stuck at home or at school.”

”Shouldn’t you be learning at school?” Despite the protest he was taking the phone from her and turning it over, looking at it from all sides.

”Eh, it’s my senior year, pretty sure if I don’t know it by now, it ain’t happening.” She grinned at the deadpan look he leveled at her. “Seriously, we can text all the time, which is the feature I thought you would appreciate the most because I know lengthy verbal conversation is a newer concept for you.”

Shaking his head he put the phone on the counter and started walking away, but she grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and he let himself be pulled between her knees. 

“I’m sorry, cheap shot. I was just teasing but my mouth runs away with me sometimes. Hell, most of the time. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’d love it if you called me.”

Derek’s eyes searched hers for a minute before he nodded his gaze dropping to her mouth and his fingertips finding the outside of her knees, barely grazing her skin. 

“I have never done a serious relationship before, Stiles. Never had a relationship period. I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”

His feather light touches were sending delicious shivers up and down her spine, making it difficult to register the words he was speaking.

When the words finally registered she met his gaze and reached up, hand curling around his neck and fingers teasing into the nape of his hair. She rubbed her thumb against his pulse and enjoyed the feel of its steady beat.

”I’ve never been in a relationship either.”

”Bullshit.” There was no heat in the word, but his expression was obvious disbelief.

”I’m serious. With the exception of two very disappointing kisses with Scott, you’re my first everything. I’m making this up as I go along.”

His eyes narrowed for the briefest moment as he thought about what she said. “You’re a virgin?”

She offered a sympathetic laugh, “Yeah, I don’t know why I figured you’d know that. I just thought maybe there would be a specific scent or something. Or that you could just read it on me.”

”I mean I could smell the absence of other scents on you, but I that can come from just being single for a while.”

”Is it a problem that I’m a virgin?”

He looked like he was really considering the question, but his fingers kept their impossibly light exploration of her exposed thighs and knees. “Shit, it’s just heavy. I don’t want you to feel pressured just because there is heat there and you know all this stuff about me. You don’t ever have to-“

She cut him off by tightly curling her legs around his, which pulled them both closer together and his pelvis was only kept away from hers because of the taut fabric of her denim skirt acting as a chastity belt. 

The flash of ruby red in his eyes told her she had his attention. “I want to, just, not today. So don’t try to talk me out of it or to be chivalrous or some shit. You’re stuck with me now Hale. So suck it up.”

His brow rose but a smirk played at his lips. “Alright, I think I can do that. But if you want to save your virtue for another day, you need to let me step back.”

Regretfully she released him and he did completly step back, shoving his hands into his pockets. Leaning back against the counter behind him, he looked completly casual and not at all like he just threatened to take her here and now on this counter.

”My ‘virtue’? You’re being poetic again.” Stiles pushes herself off the counter and stepped into his space once more, face turned up towards his. “Kiss me, Sourwolf, and I’ll go back to my prison cell before my probation officer comes looking for me.”

He didn’t even hesitate to lean down, an inviting open mouth kiss against her lips. She felt his tongue slide teasingly across her bottom lip before it was gone and he was pulling away. She didn’t even realize the whine came from her until he grinned.

”Oh shut up,” She liked the sound of his low laughter behind her as she walked away. But her smile was quickly replace with a frown because in walked trouble herself: Jackie Whitmore. 

The tiny bells tinkled and then went quite after Jackie’s entrance and her face flowed easily between impassive, to a sly smirk after seeing Stiles and Derek in the same room together.

”Well, he must be really good in bed if you have forgiven him already.” She gave Derek a slow once over, clearly visualizing what he would look like with a lot less clothes.

Stiles felt her left eye twitch and she let out a solid breath before moving into Jackie’s space. She spoke in a hushed tone, like it was a deep secret, though she knew Derek would still hear her. 

“You have no fucking _idea_.” She held Jackie’s surprised gaze for a full beat before moving around her frozen form and out of the store.

Once she was safely in her car she let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Holy shit that felt good.” She turned the engine over and told herself not to be a stalker as she drove past the windows of the store. She wouldn’t give Jackie the satisfaction of seeing her look.

She hoped Derek didn’t mind the assumption, hoped someday soon she would find out how good he really was.

_*_*_

6:55pm

 **[Stiles]:** Did that bitch finally leave?

 **[Derek]:** Yes, why does she get under your skin?

 **[Stiles]:** Well for one there are years of torment ingrained in me. I’ve known her since kindergarten. She got boobs before me, and they are bigger. It went to her head.

 **[Derek]:** I wasn’t impressed, if that means anything. She looks familiar.

 **[Stiles]:** Seriously?

 **[Derek]:** What? Should I know her?

 **[Stiles]:** You know for a ‘super enhanced’ person you can be pretty oblivious. She’s the one in that picture. On the horse-man.

 **[Derek]:** Little shit.

 **[Stiles]:** Exactly!

 **[Derek]:** What are you doing?

 **[Stiles]:** I’m supposed to be studying for an Econ test but I’m doing some research online instead.

 **[Derek]:** Stiles, I’m pretty sure if your grades start slipping your dad’s impression of me isn’t going to get any better.

 **[Stiles]:** It’s cute you’re worried about that.

 **[Derek]:** Nevermind. What did you research?

 **[Stiles]:** Too late now, it’s out there. You want my dad to like you! And also, knotting.

 **[Derek]:** WHAT THE HELL STILES?

 **[Stiles]:** Did you know that all caps means you’re yelling?

 **[Derek]:** Yes I know that, why are you looking at that??

 **[Stiles]:** Well I was just curious about wolf mating habits. With you having partial DNA, I was curious if there was anything I should maybe expect.

 **[Derek]:** Stop. Researching. That. Now.

 **[Stiles]:** I’m not scared of your overuse of punctuation, Sourwolf. Nice try. So .... does that happen?

 **[Derek]:** I’m not talking about this.

 **[Stiles]:** Then I’ll just wait until I see you again and ask you face to face. I figured it would be less awkward on a text message.

 **[Derek]:** Shit Stiles. 

 **[Derek]:** I’m closing at the store, text me after you finish studying and we can talk on the phone.

 **[Stiles]:** Really??? Deal!

 **[Derek]:** I cannot keep up with your brain.

 **[Stiles]:** Derek! I’m trying to study! Stop distracting me with your sex talk. My virtuous eyes cannot handle it.

 **[Derek]:** You’re such a little shit.

 **[Stiles]:** You’re loving it. 

9:07pm

 **[Stiles]:** I’m going to kill the Econ test! Let’s talk about sex with wolves!

 **[Derek]:** There is something seriously wrong with you. It’s a good thing you’re sexy enough to over look it.

 **[Stiles]:** You think I'm sexy?

 **[Derek]:** Don't fish for compliments, Stiles.

 **[Stiles]:** Just call me already.

**.:.:.:.** _**Derek Calling** _ **.:.** ** :.:. **

She answered on the first ring. "I'll have you know I wasn't fishing. I was genuinely asking. I keep telling you that I've not had guys show me interest before now. I'm just trying to understand what has changed."

Derek's breathing was a soothing sound coming across the phone line and Stiles' found herself settling against her pillows and thought there probably wasn't a single sound more soothing than Derek's heartbeat. And since she couldn't hear that through the phone line, the next best thing was his breathing.

"I'm always two seconds from trying to tear your clothes off, wouldn't that be proof I find you sexy?"

"For starters, that is a very hot thing to say on the phone. Or in general. But, one could make the argument that the need to rip clothes off could just be a need to fuck - which many people do without emotion involved. I feel like finding someone sexy could run deeper than that. I mean, I'm probably over thinking it, but when I think of being sexy there is lust and passion involved. Sexy usually comes before the actual sex-ing. You know?"

Derek was quite on the other line for several heartbeats and Stiles was about to ask if he was still there when he finally spoke up. "I see what you're saying. And I don't just want to fuck you and walk away. I do find you very sexy, I want to know everything about you even outside of the bedroom. I've never met anyone like you and it drives me crazy for a million reasons I haven't even figured out how to name yet. I find you very sexy, Stiles."

"God, I want you so bad right now."

She could hear his low chuckle on the other end, heard soft rustling in the background as he was obviously moving around his house. 

"So, this knotting thing," She could hear his groan before she even finished her question. "Is this a real thing? I'd really like to know because my internet browser history will never recover from this, so it might as well be worth it."

"Are you wanting it to be a real thing? Because it's kind of starting to sound like you do."

Stiles didn't really know how to answer that. It was a new thought that had come into her head earlier today and now it was like a seed that had been planted and started sprouting, putting roots into her brain. "The thought had crossed my mind. I mean the idea of us being forced to stay connected like that, it's pretty hot, you have to admit."

"I don't need a tennis ball in my penis to make me stay inside you." There was only a moment's pause before Derek continued, his voice more strained and she could almost feel the pain of his words. "When I finally get inside you, I might never ever leave."

"Oh fuck," She whimpered and covered her mouth. Her dad was downstairs and while she could hear the game her dad had recorded from earlier on the television, she didn't want to do anything to raise his suspicions to check on her. She found herself crossing her legs tightly, even slightly enjoying the ache that was starting to settle there. "Come over, right now."

There was a heavy silence that followed. "Is your dad at work?"

She hesitated, she wanted to lie but what good would it have done when he got here and found that her dad was on the couch. "No, he's home. But we can be quiet."

"No we can't. Because I want you to beg, I want to hear what you sound like when you're moaning my name."

She bit her knuckle, trying hard not to moan and beg him right now, while he was miles away from her. If just his words were affecting her this way, she had no doubt all of Beacon Hills would know they were having sex when he actually came to her. 

"This weekend then, dad is working a double."

"Stiles," Derek's voice was pained again. "We don't have to rush this."

"You have a girl who is so ready for you that she is willing to risk her father hearing right this very second. But she is saying, fine, let's wait three days until he won't be home for many many hours. I feel like that's being pretty patient."

"Stiles, I seriously think you're trying to kill me."

"Don't worry, I'm clearly trying to end my own life in the process. God I want you so bad."

There was another moment of silence before, "There is an option."

"Anything," She hated that she sounded so desperate, but she felt like a woman possessed.

"Have you ever touched yourself before?"

She made a sound somewhere between an exhale and a moan. It wasn't so much the words itself as the idea that Derek was suggesting it. That he was encouraging it.

"I've tried before, but it honestly didn't lead to anything amazing."

"What if you did exactly what I told you to do?"

"Oh fuck, like phone sex?"

"We don't have to, it was just an idea." He sounded slightly mortified that she could be turned off by the idea.

"No, no I want to try. Tell me what to do."

She heard more shifting and tried to visualize him at home right now. "Where are you?"

"I'm in bed."

Stiles' heart kicked up a notch, remembering what it was like to sleep with him in that bed. "I like your bed. Especially when you're in it."

"I've never had anyone in my bed before you, which didn't bother me until now. Now it feels empty."

The smile that grew on her face was of it's own volition. "I'm not going to lie, that was all part of my evil plan to seduce you and make you my sex slave."

"It's working."

"Fuck, Derek, I didn't think you'd agree with all that."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm so ready."

"Whatever you're wearing, I want you to take it off. All of it."

"Ok, hang on." She set her phone on the bed and then thought to herself that she should probably lock her bedroom door. Just for her own personal comfort. Once she had done that, and once she had stripped down to her bare skin she felt vulnerable but electric. Her whole body tingling with anticipation and nerves. "Okay, I did it."

She could hear his suppressed groan, no doubt trying to visualize her naked and waiting for his demands. "O'ay," He paused to clear his throat when the word came out thick and muffled. "Okay, now lay back on your pillows until you're comfortable. Then start slow, moving your hand over your body, but don't touch yourself yet."

"God are you sure you haven't done this before?"

"Thought about you laying in bed naked and getting yourself off? Maybe a time or two."

He said it so casually, a thought so fully formed that it sent a wave of electricity through her. Derek Hale got off on thinking about her touching herself. The idea made her want to rush it, want to feel the rush of an orgasm washing over her. She tried to reign her hormones in enough to wait for it. 

"Now, I want you to touch your breasts, lightly trace circles around the skin and massage them. But don't touch your nipples until I say. Slow and steady touches, keep going."

Stiles had never been much for playing with her boobs, they were always there but mostly she just felt like they helped fill out her outfits. She could feel the way all the attention was making her nipples start to tingle and she wanted to slide her hand just a fraction to touch, but she waited. Derek was mostly silent while he listened to her rapid breath, no doubt wishing he could catch her scent or her heartbeat through the phone line. 

"Okay, now very lightly circle your finger over your nipple and then pinch then between your fingers." She didn't expect the bolt of electricity, didn't really expect much of anything to be honest, but she had to stifle the broken off sob that tried to escape. "God you're so amazing, Stiles. I wish I could watch you right now."

"Wouldn't you rather be the one doing it?" She continued to play, repeating his command until she got the same reaction. 

"I would, but I'd also love to see how long I could let you do it yourself. I'd love to watch your long fingers at work pleasing yourself."

She hummed in agreement, "I could do that for you. I'd love to watch you getting off while I did the same." Even without his direction she found her fingers itching to move down her body. She could feel herself getting wet and she wanted release so badly. "What next?"

"How are you doing? Should we move forward or do you want to tease yourself a little more?"

"No, I want to move forward," Even while she said it she found herself shifting her legs apart, her fingers smoothing between them, but not penetrating. Wanting him to give that command. 

"Have you ever put your fingers inside yourself?"

She nodded reflexively but then remembered he couldn't see her so she repeated herself using her words. "Yes, but all I got was wet fingers, nothing really came of it. No pun in tended."

"God, you have to be the only girl in the world who can think of pun jokes while she is trying to get off." She could hear his smile through his words and she wished she could have seen it. His smiles are so few and so rare, each one was special to her.

"What can I say? I'm a mystery." She let one of her fingers sink inside herself and she was right about how wet she was, her finger immediately coated and slick. She pulled her finger out and asked, "How many fingers do you want inside me?"

"Shit Stiles. How many have you done before?"

"Just two, it was tight and uncomfortable so I stopped." She paused for a moment, a thought blooming to life. "God, you've defiantly got to be bigger than two of my fingers."

He gave a snort, "I should hope so. Don't worry about that though, just do what makes you comfortable. Try two for now, slide them in and out. Then curve them inside yourself as you start to push in, test out different angles to see how it makes you feel."

She tried, flexing her fingers, twisting them to and fro. It honestly felt good, felt pretty great, but she didn't see herself getting a reaction like toying with her nipples unless they did this for quite some time. She did have an Econ quiz in the morning after all.

"Still feel uncomfortable?"

"A little but it feels better than when I've tried it in the past."

"Good, that's something. Now pull your fingers out, curving to pull out some of the wet, then slide it over and around your clitoris." 

She bit her lip with frustration, it all felt good, actually a lot better than it even had by herself but she still found herself wishing it was Derek doing this and not her. "I wish you were here. I want to know what it feels like to have you touch me like this. Your fingers are bigger, warmer and I bet you'd have a firm touch." She sighed, her fingers automatically putting pressure and rubbing deep slow circles around her clitoris.

Derek's breath was more ragged, hitching as she spoke. "What else do you imagine?"

"I can picture what it would feel like to have your breath on the inside of my thighs," She wedged the cellphone between her shoulder and her ear, using her now free hand to grip the inside of her thigh. Feeling the warmth of her palm against the cool skin and imagining Derek was settled there. She gave a soft moan as her fingers pressed a little firmer, rubbed a little more intently. "I want to know what it would feel like to have you eat me out, would you take your time and tease? Or would you focus in and use your mouth and tongue to bring my orgasm come without any warning?"

He groaned and Stiles realized what was happening.

"Are you getting off?"

Derek made a deep noise that probably came from somewhere low in his chest. "Fuck, I'm working it." 

The mental image of Derek in bed, so turned on by trying to get Stiles off had her canting her hips to get a better angle and her fingers working more feverishly. "Derek, I want you to come. I want you to say my name when you do."

"Shit," Was the muffled response she got, his voice was pure gravel and his breaths came out in heavy pants. 

Her wrist burned from the effort of never really touching herself with this extensive effort, but she was determined to reach her climax when he did, or at least be very nearly behind him. Even more than his directions, which were sexy as hell to listen to, the sound of his strained effort, the low whine that she was sure he would not be pleased if he realized she heard it; all of it was by far the sexiest and edged her on.

She felt the first bloom of her orgasm looming and she couldn't help the soft explicative that escaped her. "Fuck yes, please."

"Come on, Stiles. I want to hear you come." The words were strained but they urged her on. "Babe, you're so close, let go for me."

When she would look back on this moment, early in the morning before school, she would realize that it was the use of that simple nickname - one that he hadn't used before now - that caught her by surprise enough that the orgasm washed over her like a rainstorm over the desert. It poured over in a way that she didn't realized she had been starved for it. So desperate for it, she forgot herself and let out a solid moan with Derek's name on her lips. When she realized what she had done, she tried to listen for any extra movement in the house but thankfully heard her father give several loud cheers from the living room. Because that wouldn't have been awkward to deal with.

Catching her breath she gripped the phone in her hand again, trying to calm the blood in her ears so that she could hear Derek, listen to the little pants that were jerky and without real rhythm. "I still owe you a blow job."

Derek made a choked sound like he had been punched in the gut before he was breathing her name on his lips. He made a heavy sigh after several moments of silence. "What did you say?"

She laughed, still a little breathless, "Remember, I made you a deal. If you promised not to run away after talking to my dad, I promised to make up you not getting off that day in the Camaro."

"I didn't exactly realize that automatically meant a blow job."

"Well, it might not automatically mean that. But that's what I want to do. Is that okay?"

"Stiles, I don't think you'll ever meet a guy in his right mind who will say no to that."

"Good to know." Her thoughts took her else where for a moment while she pulled her covers over her now cooling skin.

"You've gone suspiciously quite, what are you thinking about?"

Stiles turned onto her side, pulling the blankets up under her armpits and against her chest. "You called me 'babe' right before I came. I liked that."

"I'll try and remember that."

She smiled as she yawned.

"You need to get some sleep, school will be here before you know it."

"I know but I don't want to hang up yet."

"I know, but there is always tomorrow."

"Promise?"

She could hear him chuckle on the other side. "Yes, babe, I promise."

She smiled because even though she had just told him she liked the note of affection, it didn't feel forced when he used it. It felt genuine.

"Ok, goodnight Sourwolf."

"Goodnight, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I'm starting to earn my Explicit tag! It's on! lol


	9. Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY, I completely meant to have this up before now, but I was suddenly hit with a wall. In my mind I have all these visions of how things finally just HAPPEN for Stiles+Derek and I think I just had a mental explosion. lol Or something to that effect. But I'm pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully you will be too! It's another long one, but totally worth it! ........“That’s what she said.” - Michael Scott....lol, I'm a nerd and not even remotely sorry about it. ;)

Derek was vaugly aware that he may have lost his mind over the last fourty eight hours or so. Well, it could possibly be made to argue that the point he started loosing his mind was the day he met Stiles, but most significantly he started making dangerous decisions regarding his life more recently.

Every rule that he had carefully set in his life was being haphazardly broken because of a girl he didn’t really know all that well. Except, he still felt like he had known her forever. She just fit, not only against him and in his arms, but she was like a puzzle peice that he didn’t know he was missing when he started putting his life together in Beacon Hills. Now he was nearly fully established here and suddenly he found this missing piece that made the picture whole.

He knew it was reckless and most likely the dumbest decision he had ever made, but he couldn’t help but feel himself giving into the notion of an ‘us’ of the possibility that she could want to be with him long term. Or that he would want to reciprocate.

Stiles continued to surprise him, over and over again. Her ability to see through what so many couldn’t, it astounded him. She challenged him and pushed his buttons, something people rarely ever did - and never did more than once. Seeing Derek pissed off once was usually all people needed to pick a fight elsewhere.

But Stiles wasn’t the usual brand of people. He didn’t intimidate her like his presence usually did to people. She openly acknowledged his threatening form, but then it was like a personal challenge to stand up to him. She refused to back down.

And god, he didn’t even know how badly he needed that until he met her. Someone to actually give a fuck enough to rise to his temper and tell him that they still cared enspite of the scary or grotesque parts of his past.

It was unnerving how distracting the slim phone in his pocket was, even when it didn’t buzz, he started realizing he was actively anticipating it to do so. Hoping there would be a ridiculous message from Stiles. He had gone his whole life without ever feeling so dependent on someone else’s existence that it thoroughly unsettled him. But he was starting to realize that he didn’t entirely hate the idea of being unsettled.

When the bells above the bookstore door chimed, Derek glanced up to offer his usual ‘welcome’ greeting when he realized it was Scott walking in. He hadn’t crossed paths with the boy since the night Stiles had gotten into his Camaro and they drove off together. Even if Scott didn’t have romantic feelings for Stiles, Derek wouldn’t have been at all surprised if her friend hadn’t been hostile for the way things ended that night.

The door was barely closed when Scott made eye contact with Derek and his mouth twisted into a grimace. Clearly, this was not a shopping visit.

“We need to talk.”

“Pretty sure I’ve heard you say that before and it didn’t go so well on your end.”

Scott’s gaze narrowed a little. “Pretty sure your night didn’t exactly end as you had planned it either.”

And well, Derek couldn’t exactly argue him there. But he wasn’t going to agree with him either.

“We really need to talk this time. Rumors are already starting to spread and it won’t be long until Stiles’ dad hears them.”

“What rumors?”

“That you and Stiles are,” Scott’s expression shifted from annoyance to pure discomfort. “You know. Partly it’s Stiles’ dumb fault, she told me what she said to Jackie.”

 _‘You have no fucking idea.’_ When Derek had heard the hushed and passionate tone of those words, even his dick had twitched in response.

Derek did his best to keep his face impassive, his arms crossing at his chest and one brow lifting, waiting for Scott to reach his point.

“Look this isn’t a ‘protect Stiles’ honor’ thing. She’s tough enough to do that herself. What this is,” Scott hesitated for a moment but Derek could see something shift in his expression and his features and suddenly he looked bigger and stronger than before. Resolved. “Stiles, Sheriff Stilinski: they are my family. I would do anything to protect them. And after Stiles’ mom died, they survived with each other’s support.

“They are having a tough time now that Stiles’ is growing up and doesn’t need him as much but they still do need each other. I don’t want this shit - that last I’d heard was just some Stiles-thing to irritate Jackie - to blow up and put a rift between them.

“I know she likes you a lot man, like way more than I think is reasonable.” Scott’s expression softened a little. “But she loves her dad. She would never forgive herself if their relationship was ruined because there is a rumor she is sleeping with a twenty four year old dude.”

Derek was reeling, trying to keep up and descipher what Scott was telling him. “I get that I’m older, but she will be eighteen in months. We haven’t had sex - not that it’s anyone’s business-“

Scott stepped forward then, finger pointing like he finally hit the bullseye. “That’s my point! This is Beacon Hills and she is the Sheriff’s daughter! There is nothing that happens here, ever, so this is big shit! If people think you are getting away with sleeping with an underaged girl, Noah could loose his job.

“And if her dad believes that you were actually doing her, then he would without question arrest you and charge you with rape. I don’t care if her birthday was days away and not months.

“That would be the start of the rift. Because Stiles would defend you. She would stand up for you no matter if it was right or wrong because she belives in fighting for what she thinks is right. She would blame her dad. And if you left her after all of that. I don’t think she would ever forgive him.”

Derek felt like he had just gone three rounds in a ring with Scott, and that Derek was on the loosing end. He desperately listened to Scott’s heartbeat, searching for the lie. It was beating fast but it was steady and strong, Scott was telling him the truth.

“So what do you want me to do? I care about her Scott, I’m not just playing with her. And I don’t really give a shit what anyone else thinks about it.”

Scott looked conflicted but he wasn’t backing down, and Derek could see why he was Stiles’ closest friend all these years. “I don’t know what I’m asking, I just want you to be careful. Think about what this could do to Stiles’ life. If you’re not completely in, you need to get completely out.”

Derek mulled over what Scott was saying and after a long moment he gave the younger boy a single nod. “Okay.”

“Okay? Really?” Scott looked like he was trying to decide if he was being tricked and when Derek didn’t change, Scott’s tense demenor immediately relaxed and he even gave a smile. “Alright, I did my duty and now I’m going to get out of here in case Stiles’ shows up and kicks my ass for trying to defend her honor for her or some shit.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s little but her dad made sure she knew how to throw a punch.”

Derek conceded another nod, “Good to know.”

Scott looked a little uncertain then, looking around the empty store before looking back at Derek. “She’s amazing, the best really. She’s loyal to a fault. And she’s crazy about you. I personally cannot see what the big deal is, you’re always frowning.” Derek tried not to give into his point, again lost at the direction of this conversation. “Just, try not to hurt her.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

Scott opened his mouth again before closing it and nodding. He gave a mock solute before turning and walking out of the store without another word.

Well shit.

_*_*_

10:44 am

 **[Stiles]:** Soooo, the rumor mill is cranking out some interesting things these days.  
   **[Derek]:** I’ve already heard.  
**[Stiles]:** Shit, seriously?? I had a whole plan on how to ease you into that. Who told you?  
**[Derek]:** Does it matter? The real question is does your dad know yet?  
**[Stiles]:** I don’t think so? He’s still acting pretty normal.  
   **[Derek]:** Stiles I don’t want to cause your family grief  
**[Stiles]:** Derek, I swear to god, you better not be getting gallant on me. We are just two days from me loosing my virginity and I will kill you if you back out now.  
   **[Derek]:** That is the most stressful part of this for you? That we might delay having sex?  
**[Stiles]:** That’s easy for you to say, you’ve had lots of sex. With lots of women ... I’m nearly eighteen and I’ve had sex with myself. That’s a big deal.  
**[Derek]:** I don’t even know how to respond to this.  
**[Stiles]:** Tell me you aren’t going to let some rumors make you back off and ditch me. Like all together, not just for sex.  
   **[Derek]:** I don’t have any plans on doing that. I just don’t want to mess up your family. Even if the sex is earth shattering, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.  
**[Stiles]:** Earth shattering huh?  
   **[Derek]:** Babe  
**[Stiles]:** Mmm, calling me that makes me think of the other night. That was pretty great but... ‘earth shattering’... what if I just ditched the rest of the day and came to you?  
   **[Derek]:** I have to be the only guy in the world trying to put the breaks on this. I must be loosing my mind. Stay in school!  
**[Stiles]:** What if I came to the store and let you bend me over the counter like the girl in that picture?  
   **[Derek]:** Fuck.  
**[Stiles]:** Yeah, just think about that for a while.  
**[Stiles]:** Shit, next class is about to start.  
**[Stiles]:** Hey Derek?  
   **[Derek]:** Yeah Stiles?  
**[Stiles]:** No matter what I say, can you promise that you will never tell me how many girls you slept with? Like ever.  
**[Derek]:** God Stiles, you know how to mess with a guy’s head. One text you’re turning me on, the next you’re shutting it down. I can easily promise I will never tell you.  
**[Stiles]:** I like turning you on, I plan on doing it a whole lot until I can touch you again.  
   **[Derek]:** For christ’s sake go to class before I get arrested for trying to take you out of school and corrupt a minor.  
**[Stiles]:** You made that sound really dirty on purpose. But I’m going. Later Sourwolf.

_*_*_

The work day didn't go by any faster after Stiles' texts, in fact for the first time ever, he wanted nothing but to get out of his own store. Because every time he walked by the counter he got a vision of Stiles' bent over the counter, fingers white knuckled as she gripped the other side, that damn denim skirt rucked up over her hips and himself settled between her spread legs behind her. Fucking hell. Each time he went behind the counter to check someone out, he got half hard and the fantasy kept growing. 

He could hear the sounds she’d make, the endless barrage of words she would keep saying. She’d be a smart ass, taunt the wolf inside of him, wanting to know if that was his version of what claiming would look like. He could practically feel the non-existing hackles start to raise as the pressure in his jeans started becoming uncomfortable once again. He would end up leaning over her, his hands covering her wrists as he growled in her ear. Then he’d really go to work. He wouldn’t be happy - hell the animal inside of him wouldn’t be happy - until she came away from that counter with long horizontal bruises that spanned hipbone to hipbone from the edge of the countertop biting back against his thrusts.

If he didn't want to make the fantasy reality so damn bad, he would be pissed about it. A grown man walking around with a semi all day is seriously unprofessional and just made him feel like an awkward teenager all over again. He did not miss the days where he got hard if the wind blew in the right direction. And until he met Stiles' it had seemed those days were far behind him. She was the only girl he'd ever met who was so open about her thoughts - especially about sex - and it was fair to say she had him hooked.

_*_*_ 

2:15pm

 **[Derek]:** I think you created a pavlonian response to my front counter. 

   **[Stiles]:** Damn, that's hot. Well I guess I'll add that to the places I've decided we have to have sex.

 **[Derek]:** You have a list?

   **[Stiles]:** Hell yeah! I add to it at least once a day, but it's a solid list already.

 **[Derek]:** I know I'll regret asking - Friday is already feeling very far away - but what's on the list?

   **[Stiles]:** I'm not going to lie, it's nice to hear this is hard for you too. ...No pun intended, especially since I now know you've been hard for me all day.

 **[Derek]:** I'm not responding to the last part. But Stiles, you have no idea how hard it is not to just say fuck it, kidnap you, and not ever let you leave my house again. At least not until we've lost track of how many times you screamed my name.

   **[Stiles]:** Shit. I actually made a really embarrassing noise. Out loud. During silent reading of Macbeth. Thanks for that.

 

While Derek didn't actually get any of the places on her list, and he was still had to suffer a physical response from his own damn counter for a few more hours, their brief messages put a smile on his face. Picturing Stiles' come up with some kind of excuse for whatever - no doubt deeply sexual - noise she made during a very dark reading period, expressive face and mouth that never stopped running on, she would probably just end up being cut of by the teacher and sitting in only slightly embarrassed silence. Because even with all that, she would no doubt be rereading the messages and try to picture all the ways Derek would make her scream his name.

 Which was good, because he was making a list of his own.

_*_*_

He wasn't sure if it was psychological or if time really was slowing down because while Wednesday seemed long, Thursday seemed longer and Friday just felt like it would never end. Derek felt like a teenager again and as much as he told himself to get a grip and focus on tasks at hand to make the day go by faster, his brain would turn traitor and get stuck on phrases like 'get a grip' and 'at hand' and 'faster' until he thought he might actually go crazy.

He knew part of the problem was that next week would be the new moon and the hardest time of the month for him to keep control of the animal part of him. Derek still wasn't sure what he was going to do about next week, it was something that he was both trying not to think about and couldn't get out of his mind. It had taken him a long time to figure out some sort of 'plan', if it could be called that, to keep that part under control. To try and tame the wild urges that came from no longer taking suppressants or trying to pick fights that only ended in bloodshed. 

Deep down Derek knew that Stiles' wouldn't be okay with the idea of him going back to one of those places, but she was also a virgin. And while that wouldn't be the case after tonight, that didn't mean she was ready for the part of him that he couldn't hold back any longer. She didn't deserve that kind of rough treatment and he was honestly afraid of hurting her. The pull she had on him, it was unlike anything he'd ever felt, even the wolf side of himself pulled to her and it gave him an added worry.

What if the wolf side decided she was its mate? Would it try and pin her down, bite her even? It was something he knew he would have to figure out before then, because Stiles' just wouldn't understand the dangers and he wouldn't risk hurting her or having her be afraid of him in the end.  She trusted him far too much, there was no doubt that she belived he could control it. And for the majority of the month he could, it just got harder and harder with each passing day. He would get to this place where he finally felt like he had to recede the human part of himself, let the wolf take over, or he felt like he would loose his mind! Possessed was putting the hostel take over lightly. And Derek didn’t want his wolf getting anywhere near Stiles.

_*_*_

Derek left the Camaro at the store and started walking to Stiles', she didn't live far and he needed the fresh air to calm his nerves. It had been days since he saw her, since she gave him the phone, but their frequent yet brief messages had made it feel like they hadn't been apart so long. He was slow to admit it, but the phone was a good idea.

Communication was a weak spot for him, conceding that weakness was a sore spot (no matter how true it might be) but there it was, and it let him feel open to saying things because he had a chance to think about it before he text it. Or, when they spoke on the phone before she went to sleep, her voice was easy to hear.

She made it easy for him to share with her because always filled his silences while he thought with random things that ran through her brain, and she laughed at her own jokes even when he remained quite. He did wonder if she could tell when he was smiling to himself over things she said that he didn’t usually understand, there always seemed to be a pause on her end during those moments and it made him feel like maybe she was smiling right then too. 

He found himself laughing a little more, though it still felt foreign to him, Stiles' always paused when he laughed, commented on how she loved the sound. He wasn't so sure about that, but it still felt nice that she said so. It had only been three days and yet somehow the phone had become a lifeline between them and it made him realize how silences he had grown so used to weren’t necessarily a good thing. That maybe he needed a little noise. 

When he walked up to Stiles' house, he could see her moving around through her second floor window. Her curtains were drawn open wide, the light in her room spilled out onto the dark street. She was unaware he was standing there watching her, hands shoved into his pockets, as she moved to and fro, hanging up clean laundry. 

 _Stalker._ Derek could hear her voice in his head and it brought him back to where he was - standing in the middle of the road in the dark. No doubt neighbors could easily look out their windows and see him standing there. 

After taking a quick look around, to make sure people were in fact not looking at him, Derek made his was towards the house. 

The front porch spanned the width of the house and Derek used one of the corner posts to hoist himself up onto the roof above it without much effort at all. It was only a couple short steps before he was standing in front of Stiles’ window and he smirked to himself at the image before him.

She was singing to herself, some kind of punk rock song he’d not heard before - which was not shocking - and Stiles’ was bouncing along as she sorted through a basket of laundry by her closet. It made her look youthful and innocent. 

And Derek hated to admit he felt every bit the creeper as he stood there watching, and tapped on her window.

Stiles let out a loud yelp, jumped up onto her bed before she turned to face him, her expression turning from fright to frustration. She growled under her breath, eyes narrowing as she threw aside the sweater she had been holding up to defend herself. She stomped to the edge of her bed before jumping down and flipping the latch on her French door window. 

She pushed the panes outward and stood with her hands on her hips. “Have you lost your mind? You scared the shit out of me! Why wouldn’t you just ring the bell like a normal person?” 

She reached out and pulled Derek into the room, leaving the window open but yanking the curtains shut, all before Derek could even fathom a response.

”How did you even get up there? I don’t have any trees that -“ She cut herself off, making a clicking noise and pointing a finger at him. “Wolf thing right? Easy to climb stuff?”

Derek could only laugh at her, he was pretty sure he would never be able to keep up with her mind.

Suddenly she realized she had been talking nonstop and gave a small smile. “Hi.”

Derek moved in closer to her then, his arms encircling her waist as he lowered his head towards hers. “Hi back.”

Her arms instantly curled around his neck as she stepped onto her tip toes, closing the distance between them. When her mouth fully sealed against his, he felt a pang of ‘home’ so deep it made his chest burn.

Her lips were soft pillows against his and he found himself just brushing his mouth back and forth over hers, enjoying the way the felt like velvet and flexed under his touch. 

He took his time mapping out the shape of her mouth, his tongue dipping in the valley of her cupid’s bow, the corners of her mouth and the long sweep of her lower lip. Stiles was so pliable during the exploration of her lips, her breath coming out in slow pants and he could taste the mint from her toothpaste.

There was no resistance at all when his tongue pressed against the broken seam of her mouth, willingly granting him access. She met the twists and turns of his tongue with equal enthusiasm and passion. Her fingers curled into the back of his hair, putting just enough pressure to express her waning control but not enough to try and control what he was doing. Not yet anway.

Derek was pretty sure he could live happily in the sweet warmth of her mouth for the rest of his life, but he knew they had so much more exploring to do tonight. So much more they needed to share in general before he let himself really be open to thoughts of forever.

Pulling himself back he relished the small whimper she made from the broken contact and felt a rush of hunger at the way her mouth already had that swollen and abused look. He couldn’t resist rubbing his thumb across her lower lip, loving the soft cushiony feel of if it.

With her dark brown eyes looking up at him through thick lashes, she pressed the tip of her pink tongue against the narrowest part of his thumb - now frozen in place from the sight and feel of it - before she tilted her head a little and took the whole digit into her warm and wet mouth.

He groaned at the overwhelming sensation of her tongue swirling around the pad of his thumb and the pressure she created by sucking against it. 

“Fuck Stiles, what are you doing?” His voice was gravel in his throat and he had to clear it to swallow. His dick definitely knew what she was doing and it was already starting to show an interest in seeing more of it.

She finally released his thumb with an obscene pop before she licked her lips in an even more obscene way.

”You are a walking wet dream right now.”

Stiles’ sexy demenor broke into a wide smile and a full laugh. “I’ve never been called that before, but I like it.” She leaned in for another kiss and Derek pulled back, earning him a confused smile. “What’s wrong?”

”There are a couple things we really need to talk about first.”

She groaned and dropped her forehead to his chest. “Can’t it wait?” When she looked up at him again, the imploring look felt more like he was refusing to let her stay up late on a school night rather than putting the breaks on dropping his pants.

”It can’t, sorry. It is relevant to right now though, any past revelations can definitely wait.”

She gave him one last imploring look before groaning and dislodged herself from his arms. She sat on the corner of her bed, arms crossed as if she were in trouble though her expression gave her away with her brows knitted together in concern.

Derek pulled the rolling computer chair away from her desk, determined to have this conversation without the distraction of sitting on her bed, and stopped it in front of her before sitting in it.

”Okay, so,” Now that Derek had her attention, had them sitting knee to knee, he found all the words he had practiced fade away. He frowned at her, trying to will her to just understand without needing to speak. Unfortunately the government didn’t seem to have added physic abilities to his enhancements.

Shaking his head and grumbling at himself, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the folded envelope that he had shoved there. 

“Here.”

Derek watched, as a very confused Stiles looked at the envelope and read the words on the outside. “Dr. Deaton Diagnostic Laboratories.” She frowned at him some more. “I’ve never heard of this, where is it?”

”A couple counties over. I went there on Wednesday morning.”

”Why?” When he didn’t respond he watched Stiles open the envelope, unfolding the page from inside as she flicked her gaze to him periodically.

He watched her gaze flicker back and forth across the page, and he noticed that she mouthed the words silently as she read along. When she finally finished she looked up at him with no less confusion.

”You got tested for STDs? Why?”

”Because I wanted to make sure you knew you could trust me. I have had - um, experience, with other women.”

Stiles leveled a deadpan look in his direction for his choice of words before rolling her eyes.

“I know, I know, but that is what the test is for. I wanted you to have proof I’d been careful and that I am clean.”

He could pinpoint the exact moment when she put the whole thing together. “Oh. Oh shit I didn’t even think about that. Why didn’t I think about that?”

”Becauae you’ve never been with anyone so it’s not something you’ve ever had to worry about.”

Her scent had spiked a little with the anxiety of the mystery conversation but it was starting to mellow into something sweeter and more like her usual scent.

”Thank you, for this. For thinking of me and wanting me to feel safe.” She folded the page up and put it back into the envelope. Leaning forward she put the envelope onto her desk, on her way back to the bed She gave him a sideways glance. “Now can we kiss?”

He chuckled low in his chest, “One more thing.” He ignored her groan and waited until she was firmly rooted to her spot on the bed, steeling himself for the hardest part of this conversation. He told himself not to drag it out, to just say it and be done with it. 

“I can’t have children.”

Stiles eyebrows shot up as fast as she shot off the bed. She immediately started pacing the room and rambling. “Woah, I can’t have kids either! I mean maybe some day, but I’m still in high school! I plan on going to college and stuff before kids happen!”

It took Derek several moments to catch Stiles’ wrist and turn her to face him. “Listen, I don’t mean right now. I mean ever.” He could feel her pulse skip several beats under the point on her wrist. “I’m just trying to tell you the facts. I’m not even saying you’ll want to be with me long enough for it to be an issue. But sex, especially with your first, can be very bonding. I don’t want you to end up feeling tied to me if having kids is something you need to do some day.”

Stiles held perfectly still for a moment and Derek was about to ask if she’d even heard him when she moved to sit on the bed again.

”What happened?”

”It wasn’t part of the program. It was something I did, about four years ago. It's probably all paranoia but I just needed to do it.”

Stiles had a look that said she was really trying to understand but couldn’t quite bring it to focus. “Paranoia made you get fixed?”

Derek glared at the obvious dog reference. “Not funny, I’m being serious here.”

Stiles made an exasperated noise, “Derek, so am I. I don’t I understand how those two things relate. What made you so paranoid that you made it so you couldn’t have kids?”

”Because I’m a freak of nature Stiles!” Derek didn’t know where the flash of anger came from, he hadn’t been angry about his lot in life for a long time. Because anger never did anything good in his life. He took in and let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Stiles slid off the bed and knelt on the floor between his thighs. Her hands gripping his hips as she looked up at him with her deep brown eyes and he could feel the steady truth in her heartbeat. 

“Derek you are not a freak of nature. What they did to you was awful beyond compare but  that doesn’t mean you aren’t a wonderful person.” She ignored the snort he gave and continued on. “I’m serious! You went and got a test I didn’t even think of, just because you were worried that I wouldn’t trust you. That is a gesture that only a deeply loving person would think of.”

Derek brushed a hand along the side of her cheekbones and enjoyed the feel of her short soft hair under his finger tips. She pressed her head against his palm, her neck long and exposed before him, and the whole vision of her like on her knees struck him as an act of submission. It was like a salve over an open wound. He wondered if she even realized it or if she was doing it all on purpose, appealing to the wolf side of him.

“I did it because, while it probably isn’t true, I was worried I would have children with my split DNA. I didn’t want them to be angry and afraid, to live in hiding. I also was moving around a lot, sleeping with women I never intended to see again. While I used protection, did the best I could, I knew nothing was foolproof. I wanted to take control of the situation, so as soon as I saved up enough money, I had the procedure done.”

Stiles sighed his name, giving him a sad smile. “I’m sorry you had to make that choice. I think I get it now. If roles were reversed, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have felt and done the same as you did.”

She got up from her knees, climbing onto his lap so she could drape her arms around his neck and look him in the eye. “And as far as very-future-distant little baby Derek’s and little baby Stiles’,” She continued over his eyeroll, no doubt noticing the grin he was trying to suppress. “There are thousands of kids who need homes. If kids were something we decided we wanted in our lives, I think it would be easy to love any of them.”

He stared at her in wonder for several moments, finally shaking his head while offering one of his rare but genuine full smiles. “You’re an amazing woman, babe.”

She hummed in agreement as she eyed his mouth like a rare desert. “Sooooo, are those all the important things that had to be discussed?”

Derek laughed then, unable to hold it back against her enthusiasm. “Yeah, that pretty much covered the agenda for now.”

”Thank. God.” Stiles quickly rearranged herself on his lap so that she was straddling him, her fingers lifting the hem of his shirt so that she could touch his skin while she leaned into his neck.

Her hot wet mouth made contact and it felt like she lit a match in his veins. Her tongue slid easily over the thick cord just under his skin and he could almost feel his pulse beating back against her applied pressure. 

He groaned, his fingers curling over the curve of her ass and hiking her up into his lap a little higher, putting them more in alignment. He liked the subtle torture of it, of feeling the warm weight on his growing erection but knowing that actual contact might as well be miles away with all the layers of clothes they needed to clear through.

Stiles breath hitched against his throat, her nails softly scratching against his stomach as she sat up a little straighter, her mouth making its way to the hinge of his jaw. Once Derek felt her teeth latch on and scrape against his jaw, he felt a wave of possessiveness wash over him and with it another shred of his control snap.

She let out a small yelp, fingers gripping his sides when he stood without warning, taking her with him. Her ankles automatically locked around him and Derek mentally added the feel of her thighs tight around his hips as one of the greatest sensations on earth.

He made quick strides to the long, low dresser near them and slid her ass onto it before moving his hands under the hem of her shirt. She removed her own hands from under Derek’s to raise her arms overhead and make it easy for him to remove the barrier.

His wolf preened at the sight of her, perfectly pale skin that was marked only by random moles and freckles.

His eyes met hers and he grinned, “The day I met you, I had to physically force myself to look away from your legs.” He rubbed the covered objects of his story, wishing he’d already removed the jeans from them. “I couldn’t stop thinking that I bet you had freckles everywhere.” His gaze slid easily across her chest - covered only by a lacy teal bra - and her stomach. “I was right.”

She leaned back against braced arms and grinned at him. Looking so very comfortable under is gaze. “Who knew wolves were such saps, the pervert part I easily buy, but it’s cute that you’re so sentimental.”

Derek gave a low growl that was more for show than actual intimidation and Stiles’ brows wiggled suggestively, clearly already learning the differences in his noises. He was surprised how much he liked that she was such a quick learner - especially where he was involved.

He moved in over her, his arms parallel to her own against the dresser and his nose finding space between her cleavage and breathing deep. Arousal was so strong around her, the thick smell of honeysuckle growing more and more tangible as the moments ticked on. His tongue connected to the soft warm skin and dragged upward, collecting all of the aroma like actual droplets of scent past her clavicle and followed the curve of her tilted back neck to her chin.

He moved back just enough to admire the shiny line of saliva that marked her body and the incredible show of submission she was again presenting by continuing to keep her head tilted back and neck fully on display.

”Fuck, do you know what you’re doing to me?”

Slowly her head came back up and when her gaze met his, the pupils were nearly complely blown, leaving a thin ring of amber brown around solid black centers. She bit her lip and tightened her hold around his hips before shifting her weight to one arm and using her now free hand to grab the collar of his shirt and haul him closer, their mouths coming together in a crush of teeth and tongues.

The next growl Derek gave was more ferral and territorial, and Stiles responded in kind, lifting her other arm around his neck and burring her fingers into his hair. He lifted his mouth from hers, moving over to her neck where he was able to breathe her scent in its purest form. His mouth moved over the long column, licking and kissing between moments of scraping teeth as he tried to resist the wolf-ish urge inside him to sink his teeth deep inside the flesh of her neck and just Pin. Her. Down.

”Ah, fuck, I love that. But I bruise super easy, so keep all the markings below collar level okay?”

Derek’s response was a growl in protest, his five o’clock shadow rubbing against the tortured skin in retribution which made Stiles’ hiss before she laughed lightly.

Her neck was still open to him and her fingers lightly played in his hair but she didn’t try to pull him back or stop his movements. “Don’t tell your wolf what to do while it’s scenting, got it.”

Derek couldn’t help lifting his head up long enough to glare at her before he shook his head, because honestly she wasn’t far off the mark. He was so lost in the scent of her, the dazzling smiles she gave paired with drunken gazes framed by half-masted lashes, the sounds she didn’t seem to realize she was making and the feel of her skin under him. It was an intoxicating experience - Stiles open and willing, pliable for anything he wanted.

So much so, that it dulled every other sense that wasn’t directly related to the ones having to do with her like this.

So much so, that he barely heard the key scraping the lock of the front door before it was inserted and the tumblers giving way to release the deadbolt from its housing.

“Babe. Your dad.” He was pretty sure his voice sounded every bit defeated as he felt in that moment.

“Derek, you promised, no more serious talks until after-“ He saw it, the moment her pupils went from wide and sex-drunk to constricted with the realization that her front door was opening. “Shit, why does the universe want me to be a virgin forever?”

“Stiles?” From down the stairs they could both hear Sheriff Stilinski moving around and calling her name.

“Yeah, be right there.” She shouted back before giving Derek something of a sympathetic look - though he wasn’t sure if the sympathy was more for herself than for him. She pushed him back and less gracefully climbed down from her dresser before scooping up her shirt and pulling it on.

“Stiles,” Derek started but she gave him a firm look.

“He is working a double. He must have just forgot stomething. Don’t you dare think of leaving.” She turned away before he could respond and she had her hand on the door handle ready to yank it open.

“Stiles,” he hissed her name, trying to convey they importance of what he was trying to say without making too much noise.

She turned and looked at him, mouthing ‘what?’ while looking equally exasperated.

“Your neck,” He hoped his expression would stop her hand from turning the knob before it was too late.

She released the handle and slapped a hand over the side of her neck that he had been abusing moments earlier. “What about my neck? I told you I bruise!”

Derek rolled his eyes, “It’s not a hickie and I don’t think it will leave a mark. But right now it’s very red and telling.”

“Shit.” Stiles thought for a moment, her brain working faster than Derek’s enhanced brain could ever hope to and she quickly crouched before the dresser pulling open one of the lower drawers. She pulled out a red zip up hoodie and whipped the hood over her head. She paused without warning, twirling the red corded strings between her fingers and Derek could smell the track her mind was racing down.

“You know, I suddenly have a Little Red Ridinghood fantasy that might need to be addressed.”

“Babe,” He wasn’t even sure if he actually said it or just growled at her, but she finally surrendered and left the room.

With the door closed he tried to quill his rising wolf and check his desires. Every minute with her made both equally stronger and harder to control. He palmed his hardening dick, trying to ease some of the tension there, taking deep breaths until he could hear around the sound his own blood running through his veins.

_“Hey, dad, what are you doing home?”_

_“I forgot my dinner in the fridge, what are you up to?”_

Derek could hear shuffling around and imagined the sheriff moving things in the fridge to get what he was after.

_”Just working on a project, been putting it off for a while. Now it’s gotta get done tonight.”_

Derek rolled his eyes, knowing that Stiles was speaking in double entendres for his benefit. 

_”Well make just make sure you do it right, no half-assing it because you waiting until the last minute.”_

Derek pulled a face of disgust because that was totally Stiles’ fault and he could hear her cough to cover a laugh. 

_“Will do, dad, will do.”_

There was a moment of silence and Derek wished he could see what was going on.

_”So, kid, hear of any good rumors lately?”_

Derek groaned the same times Stiles did.

_”First of all dad, that was not a smooth transition by any means. Like the complete opposite of smooth. Second, that is an untrue rumor that I started to piss off Jackie. So just ignore it.”_

_”Whitmore? What is it with you two? When you were kids you were best friends and now you’re constantly trying to one up each other. Though, Stiles, you trashing your own reputation does not put a tally on your leaderboard.”_

_”She just thinks she’s better than me. She heard about Derek and tried to start a fight between us - so the next time I saw her I just said the first thing that came to mind.”_

Derek did a mental head slap for Stiles.

_“The first thing that came to mind about Derek, was the quality sex you had supposedly not really had with him?”_

Stiles groaned with obvious pain. _“That’s not what I meant. She made a wise crack about - you know, it’s not important. I said it, to the biggest gossip in school so of course it’s all over town now. I’m sorry if it’s a huge disappointment but I can’t take it back now.”_

_"Other than the obvious of his being an older guy showing interest in you, I cannot understand what the fascination is. Do you even have anything in common?"_

_"Look, dad, I know you don't get it. I don't really expect you to. I mean, isn't that part of the teenage rite of passage? Her dad has to hate her boyfriend? But you don't know him like I do, and if you actually tried, you might see some of what I see."_

_"Boyfriend?"_

Derek could hear Stiles' sigh of defeat. _"It just came out, we haven't officially called ourselves anything yet but it feels like we are moving that way. I'd really rather not have to find a space for my dad and a space for the guy I like. I don't want this to be some war between us all where I'm mad at you for you being mad at him, and he's mad at you for not giving him a chance, and I'm upset with him for being mad at you, and-"_

 _"Kiddo, I'm sorry."_ Derek could hear the shuffling of fabrics and the slightly tighter way Stiles' breath came out and he could imagine the sheriff hugging his daughter. _"This is new territory for me. If nothing else, I expected Scott to be the one banging my door down for your hand in marriage some day."_

_"Dad, ew, we don't see each other like that."_

_Her dad made a noise that said something like he wasn't so sure about that. "Well, in any case, I at least expected it someone closer to your own age."_

_"Dad, stop with the age thing."_ He could hear more movement and Stiles' voice was much stronger, undoubtedly standing on her own again. _"We will keep a low profile until I turn eighteen because I don't want to cause you any trouble and I don't want you looking for a reason to arrest him."_   There was a silence that Derek could imagine Stiles' giving one of her 'I'm fucking serious' glares he had been on the receiving end of one too many times. _"But I like him, I'm going to keep seeing him. When my birthday comes, we always just hang out here with the McCalls anyway so we can have Derek over then and everyone can meet him. Then you'll be able to see him without some awkward silent dinner where you both try glaring each other to death."_

_"Stiles, I think you're forgetting that I'm the parent here."_

_"No, I'm not. But you seem to keep forgetting I'm not twelve anymore and I need you to just trust me for once. Trust that you raised me with a square head on my shoulders and trust that I can make some kind of decision for myself."_

There was another beat of silence before the sheriff sighed, _"I do realize you're getting older and I do trust you. I just have a hard time trusting men who are clearly after more than just your conversation."_

_"I tell you what, if he breaks my heart, you can shoot him."_

There wasn't even a beat, _"Deal."_

Derek would be offended if he wasn't feeling more pride towards how she handled herself. They would discuss the whole 'you can shoot him' comment later.

 _"Alright, Dean is in the cruiser waiting for me. Go finish your project, don't stay up late."_ Derek could hear the sound of shoes moving around and getting further away from the stairs. _"I love you kid, you know that's why I worry."_

_"I know dad, I love you too. Kick some ass, take some names."_

_"Language, kid, language."_ But there was humor in his voice, like it was some long standing joke that Derek didn't quite understand.

Derek could hear Stiles' voice drift out onto the porch, saying hello to the officer that had been referred to earlier before he heard the door shut and the deadbolt slide back into place.

When Stiles' opened her bedroom door the relief that read on her face was loud and clear. She took a step forward before she heard the crunch of gravel under the cruiser's tires and her gaze fell on the open window, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. She met Derek's gaze and held it, waiting for him to tell her they were in the clear. Once the car was far enough down the street that he felt comfortable they wouldn't be coming back, Derek only gave her the slightest of nods before she was in his arms again, her mouth rising up to meet his.

"Sorry about that, he wouldn't leave." She murmured against his mouth, fingers moving down his chest in search of his shirt hem and tugging it upwards.

He backed away, quickly hauling the fabric over his head before letting it fall to the ground. "Later, Stiles. Right now, I need to get you in a lot more _me_ frame of mind."

"Oh, it's getting there." Her fingers barely had a chance to flutter over his naked abdomen and chest before he was looking to make their clothes set on more equal balance. She let him peel the hoodie and t-shirt off in one move, leaving her in the same lace bra that she had been in before they were interrupted. 

Derek ushered her towards the bed, fingers on her hips mouth dropping intermittent kisses on her lips before he felt the back of her shins make contact. He pushed her down and she landed with an 'oaf' before laughing up at him, but the sound dying in her throat - he could only imagine what he looked like. Her mouth dropped open before she licked her bottom lip up between her teeth and she made a restless move of curling one of her ankles around the back of his knee. 

As much as he liked the easy way she seemed to fill silences, he liked the speechless side of her just as much. Her heartbeat and the wave after wave of arousal told him what she couldn't make words express and this time it was he who sank between her parted knees. 

"Derek, you're kind of missing the mark here." She pointed to her mostly naked upper body and he couldn't stop the smirk that she drew from him.

"Did I?" His gaze dropped and his hands palmed and pressed against the inside seams of her jeans, pushing her thighs even further and more obscenely apart. 

"Oh fuck," The words had been a whisper on her lips, but his gaze flicked upwards to hers to let her know that he'd heard it, liked it.

He let his palms converge where the v of her jeans met before moving up to quickly unbutton and draw down the zipper. He easily peeled them open and she lifted her hips, ever the willing assistant in riding herself of the clothing barriers between them. The scent of her arousal was so strong with only matching lace underwear between them now and it was all he had inside himself not to just rip the feeble garment off of her. Instead he gave into the wolf side of himself for just a moment, letting his nose press into the soft skin where the hinge of her leg met the teal cloth, his tongue snaking out to taste the sweet aroma, feel just how velvety soft the skin was there. 

Stiles' moan was palpable, her body starting to vibrate with trying to keep herself propped up and need. 

Derek pressed a finger into the soft crease of skin on either side of the fabric, pulling the lips that kept her arousal locked away from him more open and he pressed his tongue flat against it, dragging it up the length of the lacy seam and getting just a tease of her flavor through the sporadic holes. 

Stiles' hips shifted forward, fractionally, an unconscious effort to bring her body closer to what naturally desired. "Please," She whispered, her voice already sounding well on its way to wrecked. He loved the sound of her begging for him.

He took pity enough to curl his fingers around the thin straps of her underwear and pull them down, releasing them from her ankles before dropping them at his side. 

Derek thought it was sincerely the most beautiful sight and smell he’d ever encountered. She was completly pink, swollen with desire and open to him. A vaguely translucent milky sheen starting to pool at her inverted teardrop opening, calling to him like a man parched in the desert to a mirage of crisp crystal waters. It was all he could take not to just dive right in and drown himself, it would be the most amazing death, he just knew it. But right here, in this moment, he wanted to take her apart slowly just so he could put her back together.

He kissed the inside of one thigh, open wet kisses with just a hint of blunt teeth, as he lifted it at the soft crook of her knee. As his mouth moved painstakingly closer to where they both wanted him to be, his hand slid in the opposite direction down her calf to her ankle and guided the arch her foot to his shoulder. He held her foot there, giving her moments to register what he was silently asking her to do, as his mouth continued to mark and assault the long limb that had been the object of his fascination since day one of laying eyes on her. 

His mouth landed on the soft part of her thigh right below the tiny crease where the curve of her ass began, slightly inside. It was warm from where her thighs slightly touched and soft as velvet from never seeing the harsh rays of sunlight. His blunt teeth sunk in, his tongue sliding back and forth across the small roll of healthy fat he gathered into his mouth. He could feel Stiles' forefoot and the ball of her metatarsal bone dig into his shoulder blade then, humming her appreciation as he continued, making sure to apply enough pressure and suction that there would no doubt be a violent bruise she would feel with every step she took tomorrow and maybe the day after that. A private claim on her body that only they would know about.

Derek released her ankle, letting her have the freedom to arch and flex her foot over him as he worked her into a frenzy. He wanted her to stay open and comfortable as he honed in on the space that was begging for his attention. The small translucent pool had just started to spill over, a tiny drop nearly starting its fall but Derek claimed it, his tongue curling softly under the opening before pressing flat, the strong corded muscles under the center of his tongue pushing it inward, just testing the push back of her own muscles that had never meet foreign flesh before continuing his rise, completely dressing her private parts in his wake. 

"God, Derek, you're going to give me a licking kink."

When his eyes darted up to hers, she was watching him, pupils transfixed on his every movement. His only response was a wink, because obviously that was his plan here. To have everything he did become a 'kink' an absolute must have so that she couldn't go a day without thinking about - his hands on her, his mouth, his tongue, and his body covering over hers.

He returned his attention to his task at hand, literally circling and feeling the softness of the folds at her opening, massaging between his fore-, middle finger and thumb until they were a rich ruby color, the air passing over them between passes of his fingers causing Stiles' a soft shutter. Unable to resist, he slowly pressed his forefinger inside of her, his middle finger not quite penetrating but just enough to feel the muscled entrance squeeze against the foreign objects.

One of Stiles' elbows slipped and tipped sideways briefly before regaining herself, chest and neck flush with want.

"Lay back, Stiles, close your eyes. You won't miss what I'm doing." His mouth lowered over her swollen and tender to the touch clitoris and he wasn't quite sure if she slipped again or if she just resigned to it as she flopped onto her back, the bed jerking at the motion before everything settled again. 

"Oh for fucks-sake, Derek, please." It was hard to imagine this moment as funny, but Stiles' was probably the only person - man or woman - would could draw a laugh so easily from him at the moment he least expected it. He could feel his own warm breath as he huffed a laugh against her, his mouth sealing around her again and this time giving into her petitions. 

He started by sucking lightly, tongue flicking the little nub as the pressure started to build in his mouth. He could hear the scratch of fabric as she balled the sheets into her fists and her heel slid off his shoulder for just a split moment before it was dragging itself back into place and standing on tiptoe. He gave a couple abortive thrusts into her with his fingers, taking the time to make sure his fingers were completely coated before fully submerging them. 

Stiles' moans were spilling from her like a full cup that had tipped off the counter. His free hand slid over her other thigh, toes somehow finding their way into his front jean pocket and using it for leverage. He could feel the muscles of her leg pulled taught and shaking with the effort to stay upright and open to him. He pulled his mouth back, the wet sound making an obscenely loud pop in a room that was quite other than the slick slide of his fingers slowly moving in and out of her and her abortive gasps. 

His free hand made its way up to her abdomen and between the valley of her breasts, loving the feel of her heart beating wildly against his palm. It was like surround sound for his senses. Her pulse was beating wildly in his ears like rock star drum solo on steroids, smell the intoxicating aroma of her need _want_ need in the air and the steady banging of her heart under his hand anchoring him in this moment.

Her pleads for release went straight to his dick which was already straining against the denim of his jeans, not nearly at the right angle to become properly hard and instead just a constant - and unnecessary given his position between her thighs - reminder that he was a long way off from his own salvation.

Derek could feel the hiccup in her pulse, smelt the influx of blood rushing to where he was so focused and closed his mouth around her with renewed purpose. He used his fingers to curl into an scissor out of her, a two-fold task of searching for her release and trying to make the next part as painless as possible, because god did he need to sink into her. He could feel her start to tense, could sense her climax was so close and he couldn't help the urgent desire to taste her as it happened. 

"No-," She whimpered when he withdrew his fingers, quickly switching them to where his mouth had previously been before licking his way deep inside her, his other hand quickly gripping her hip and holding her at just the right angle to let him get to all she had to offer. "Oh. Oh god yes, yes keep doing that. Oh fuck Derek, I definitely - fuck, fuck - I love that." Her fingers moved into his hair, short nails digging into his scalp and holding him where he worked, as if he had plans on ever leaving this space.

He was completely intoxicated and transfixed, the fluttering walls around his tongue and the spiked smell of her arousal as she started to dive off the precipice without a single look backwards. The moment she climaxed was mind-blowing, her whole body becoming a taut line pulled so tight that her spine bowed upwards until it was just her ass and the top of her head touching the fabrics below her. Her heel dug into his shoulder blade without thought or mercy, but the best part was how for all the words that Stiles' endlessly used, she was completely strung out and silent. He could only hear the high whine somewhere at the back of her throat and it was thrilling that he had completely and thoroughly rendered her speechless using only his mouth and hands.

He continued trailing his tongue around her, inside of her until he was sure he had every drop and she released his hair from her grasp. Her back found the bed again and she breathed a very contented sigh. 

"Damn, Sourwolf." She lifted her head up long enough to give him a half-mass glazed over smile, her rising and falling chest starting to slow down along with her heart rate. "How are you possibly going to top that?" 

He grinned back at her, straightening his back as he used the back of his hand to wipe off his chin before he put the two fingers that had been inside of her inside of his mouth, sucking off any of the residual scent there and enjoying the way her mouth went slack while watching. 

“That was just a warm up, we aren’t nearly finished yet.” Derek popped the button on his jeans and he could practically hear Stiles eyes snap to watch. 

He wasn’t sure if she even realized that she had pushed herself up into a more seated position and that she was just openly leering at him as he unzipped the jeans but he couldn’t help but be amused at her open and honest curiosity.

“I love how you look, just like this.” He unzipped his jeans as he tried to take a mental picture of her. The way her legs were still slightly splayed, the flush of crimson that had bloomed all over her chest neck and face. The dazed but satisfied glaze of her eyes.

Apparently Stiles’ post orgasm brain was a bit slower than regular-brain Stiles because she just blinked at him, “Huh?”

He let the folds of the jeans fall open naturally, knew that his black boxer briefs were just barely showing. He knew that Stiles could see them.  

”You’re beautiful,” That did bring her focus back and even though her face was already flush from her orgasm, she blushed under his praise.

”Well, you’re certainly no unfortunate soul in the looks department.” She shifted closer to the edge of the bed, her feet planting firmly on the floor as she reached forward and grabbed the draping belt loops to pull him closer. Her mouth connected with the firm muscle of his stomach, teeth biting the upper lip of his belly button and pulling hard enough to extract a groan from him before she released it, licking a long slow stripe over the near puncture wound she created there.

Stiles pulled back and curled her fingers into the hem of his jeans, pushing them down until they gave way and pooled at his feet. He stepped back, towing off his shoes before stepping out of his jeans, pulling his socks off with them. He could sense Stiles tracking his every movement, could smell the warm flowery scent of her arousal. When he stood and faced her again, only in his black briefs her eyes were fully lodged on his erection, which was no longer trapped in an uncomfortable position in his jeans.

“Oh damn,” Stiles’ pupils dialated but her tone was hard to read, making Derek unsure if she was complimenting him or just realizing she was making some kind of a mistake.

But he decided it at least wasn’t an insult when she was sliding off the bed and onto her knees in front of him, her fingers again reaching for the edge of the barrier fabric between them before peeling it downward. It was only a breif moment before the breeze from the window hit his naked erection, a stark contrast from the heat contained in his clothes, which sent a delicious and unexpected chill down the backs of his thighs.

Stiles’ hiccup of breath was warm against his hipbone and her fingers tentatively made contact with his thighs. Her eyes were fixated on the length of him, before ticking up to meet his gaze, giving a short laugh.

”Laughter, especially when you’re on your knees in front of a naked man, isn’t exactly appreciated.” But his smirk gave away the fact that his feelings hadn’t been hurt, at least not yet.

She gave a shake of her head and another, more nervous sounding, laugh. “Sorry, I just - I expected you to be, you know, not small. But I wasn’t exactly expecting you to be, well, all that you are.” Almost as if she were magnetically drawn, one of her hands circled around the base of his length.

He took a steadying breath as he felt her long, cool, fingers gently flexing around him. Just that simple touch was better than he had anticipated and he was already on the edge. After another deep breath he reached out and touched her cheek.

“Babe, I’m not expecting anything here. If you don’t want to do anything else -“

“No!” She sheepishly laughed at herself when she realized how forceful and loud it had came out, her tone softer and more herself when she started again. “No, I just have never done this before - you know that. So it’s a little intimidating when I’m not sure what to do.” Her thumb started making little circles on the side of his penis, testing out the feel of the thin skin moving under it.

“I’m already enjoying what you’re doing now, so just do what you feel comfortable with and I’m sure it will be fine with me.”

He wasn’t sure how it was possible for someone to roll their eyes and look so annoyed while stark naked - with the exception of her bra - from a kneeling position and a dick in their hands, but Stiles pulled it off.

“Seriously, that’s your advice? That whole ‘go what you’re gut tells you and it will all work out’ nonsense might be perfect for picking out what paint shade to use in your kitchen, but not so much here.” She sighed and looked away from him for a moment, which ended up setting her focus on his still very hard and sort of neglected uncircumcised penis staring right back at her before she met his gaze again.

“I’m not saying you have to give an entire lecture on ‘how to jerk your man off in 10 easy steps’ but some cliff notes would be great.”

There were so many points about everything she just said that Derek didn’t even know were to start. So instead of words, he started with actions. He covered her hand itch his own, loving how smooth her skin felt as he slowly pushed her hand up his length, increasing the pressure by closing her fingers around him with more grip as they moved.

“Variety with consistency is important,” He grinned when her eyes snapped up to meet his, her next eye roll at his contradiction only a heartbeat away. “Anything you decide to do, do it several times before switching to something else.”

He made a point of this by simply sliding her hand up and down his length, adding pressure as they moved toward the more sensitive and slowly peeking out tip of his penis from its foreskin before sliding it back down to the base with lighter pressure. He helped her repeat this a couple more times before he added a subtle variation of twisting her wrist on the upstroke before twisting back and coming straight down on the return.

“It lets me start to feel a buildup of pleasure but keeps me from getting too close to coming too fast by using a steady pattern I can start to predict.”

Stiles gave a whimpered moan as she nodded, her tongue peeking out to lick at her bottom lip. “God your voice when you talk about this stuff. It gets so deep and rough. I’m pretty sure you could have a job as a phone sex operator and do really well for your self.” It took a moment before what she said registered in her own mind and she looked up at him with a small glare, “Not that I’d be ok with anyone else hearing your voice like that or you saying things like that to other people.”

He would be amused if the way she was already taking over, creating her own patterns of varying pressure and speed didn’t have his mind on the more current and very local job happening right this moment. “Noted.”

“It’s so crazy how the skin is so soft but the muscles underneath it are so hard. I know that’s an obvious duh, becauae ‘hard on’ but it’s just like silk sliding over a penis shaped rock.”

He did huff a laugh at that because Stiles was definitely the only woman he’d ever been with who not only made outward observations like that before but also just managed to fill what could be very awkward silences. She wasn’t ashamed of her vulnerabilities, and instead of hiding behind them she made sure to talk them out.

It kind of worked for him.

“What else?” Her fingers had already stalled their movements, her thumb and forefinger moving the retracting foreskin back and forth over his tip, watching and feeling the slick slide of it.

“That’s pretty good,” Derek swayed into the movements of her fingers, unable to stop himself. It was such a small thing but the amount of pleasure was intense as she applied a little more pressure to the pinch-like action, feeling the curve of his tip as she pulled it forward and the crown edge as she pushed it back, fully exposing him to the cool air.

She leaned closer to him, her mouth hovering close to the head and he watched with baited anticipation as he saw the tip of her tongue slip past her lips before he finally felt it make contact with the swollen but smooth skin. It was very tentative at first, her tongue dipping against the slit of his penis where the first drops of precome were weeping out before she pulled it back, registering the taste of it.

A moment later she must have decided it wasn’t too bad because her lips were pressing against the head in a vulgar kiss that Derek knew he would never in his life forget. She held him firm as she leaned towards him, letting the top press against the seam of her lips to penetrate in such a way that was purely pornagraphic.

Stiles’ lids dropped heavily as she pressed him further into the wet warmth of her mouth and he could feel her tongue pressing against his intrusion in complete contradiction that felt so amazing. He groaned, his stomach muscles clenching and dipping deep in response to the overwhelming sensations she was creating. He watched as her cheeks started to sink in and could feel the suction, watched her throat working as she created a whole new kind of pressure inside her mouth.

”Babe. Fuck. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” His fingers automatically found her short shorn hair and for the first time since they met, he was sorry that she didn’t have enough for his fingers to grip tightly. But maybe that was for the best, because forcing himself into her mouth before she was ready was an asshole move and he didn’t want to be that guy.

She gave him a cursory glance and he could see the corner of her mouth, that was so beautifully stretched around the head of his dick. Stiles’ tried to quirk upward before he felt her tongue explore the crowning ridge of his penis, felt the tip of her tongue mapping where the taunt lines of sensitive veins came together at the underside before he let out an audible moan.

The suction around his penis gave way immediately as she did fully grin around him, tilting her head upward a little so that his penis bumped against the roof of her mouth and she let her tongue play with the ridges a little more, short uncontrolled sounds of pleasure escaping him like he was tripping over them.

After another moment, she changed tactics again and took more of him into her mouth, passing where his foreskin had retreated and once again tightly sealing her mouth around him as she started sucking with earnest. Her hand started stroking the length of him, grip much firmer and more confident now. Derek felt the welcome burn in his gut, that heat that started as a spark and each determined stroke acted like pieces of kenneling that would soon have him in a complete blaze of fire.

With more effort than Stiles would ever realize and with a battle against his more primal side, Derek forced Stiles’ head back so that his now aching penis popped free of her mouth with a wet sound that would haunt his dreams for some time to come.

Stiles was looking up at him with a slightly dazed but very confused look, even while her strokes were continuing though her grip had slackened by several degrees. When his hand covered hers, stalling it’s motions but keeping her fingers locked around him. Her eyes dropped to their intermingled hands, felt him pressing her fingers tightly around him.

”You’re sending me mixed messages, Sourwolf. Was I hurting you?” She looked up at him with concern, and he shook his head with a soft smile. The hand that was pressed to the top of her head slid down the side of her face and his thumb slid across her shiny and swollen lower lip.

”You’re not hurting me at all - you’re killing me but not hurting me.” He continued over he smirk, ignoring her obvious uptick of her heart that said she was enjoying the praise because no doubt she would use that against him later. “I’m just going to come if you keep all that up.”

She locked her lips, her tongue bumping against the thumb that rested at the corner of her mouth before smirking again. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the goal of a blow job, to come?”

”Your mouth is so dangerous,” He shook his head in amusement, because every moment he spent with her was yet another example of that fact. “On another occasion I would love nothing more than to come in your mouth, hot down your throat, but tonight I want to be inside you when I do. I have to be inside you.”

Derek’s wolf preened at the almost painful whine that came from Stiles’ throat. He was feeling pretty damn proud himself for eliciting such a vulnerable sound from her using just his words. Derek released Stiles’s grip around him so that he could crouch in front of her and help her to a standing position.

Stiles took the moment to kiss him, standing on her toes with her fingers immediately getting lost in his hair and pressing her body fully against his. His aching penis was trapped between their bodies, throbbing against their stomachs and he gripped her hips tightly to hold the pressure - a tease of what’s to come.

She moaned against his mouth, and stumbled backwards, pulling him along to her bed. When her shins hit the edge she didn’t release him, lifting one foot behind her and then her other as she knelt on and bed and shifted towards her pillows, navigating him along with her. Once they were both kneeling on the bed she released him long enough to unclasp her bra, the last stitch of clothing between them, and after pulling the straps down she tossed the garment to the floor.

Finally able to see her without any barriers between them, Derek couldn’t help but take her in, shaking his head in wonder. “You are so unbelievably perfect, I can’t get over it.”

She blushed but grinned at him as she readjusted on the bed, laying under his gaze with her head on the pillows. “You remember you said that when I’ve said something that pisses you off. You said I was perfect, so I automatically win all arguments.”

Derek snorted as he pushed his knees between her thigh, encouraging her to make room for him there and he moved over her, putting his upper body weight onto his forearms by her shoulders. He could feel the press of his penis at the soft mound of her vagina but made no move to try and penetrate her. Yet.

“I will remember I said that, because it’s true. But I sincerely doubt that it will be an argument free pass. But we can see what happens.”

She grinned at him, a light laugh bubbling up from within and her fingers lightly touched along the length of his sides. “God I’m so glad I met you.” Her eyes dropped to his mouth, tongue licking her lips almost absently before her gaze met his again.

“Me too,” Derek closed the distance between them, his mouth crushing over hers and his tongue diving in to claim what she readily offered him. He could feel her hips lift against his, the friction making him groan into her mouth.

He left her mouth his lips connecting with her cheek, chin, behind her ear and the length of her throat. His teeth and tongue followed every place his mouth went, making an unmistakable red path of his desire in their wake. Stiles clutched at his biceps when his teeth scraped over her collarbone and a strangled moan escaped when he sucked at the hollow of her clavicle before he slid lower.

He shifted so that all his upper body weight rested on one arm before he cupped one of her breasts in his hand, testing the weight and feeling the soft skin under his fingers. He watched the way her uneven breathing made her chest rise and fall in quick skittered movements, just begging for him to try and catch them.

His thumb grazed over one of her pert nipples and she made a broken off noise, shuffling underneath him. She said his name in a whisper that sent even more blood rushing to his dick, which he hadn’t even thought humanly possible as the heat of his breath connected with her skin just before his mouth closed over her nipple. His tongue flicked the little bud back and forth before he sucked all the air out of his cheeks, the pressure it created making her arch into him and dig blunt fingernails into the muscle of his arms.

“Oh shit that feels so good. Derek, please, please.”

As much as he was enjoying himself, enjoying the sounds of her pleading, he knew they both needed what was next, the anticipation was driving them both slowly insane.

Derek moved above her again, his gaze holding on her face until she finally opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Tell me what you need, I have to hear you say it.”

It took her several moments to catch her breath, “I need you Derek. Right now, so badly. Please, I need to feel you inside me.”

Derek kissed her again, with everything he felt in that moment before he nudged her thighs further apart, spreading his own knees apart in the process and one hand gliding down to encourage her leg to wrap high around his middle.

“Try to breathe, long deep breaths and try to relax.” Derek murrmered encouraging words as he felt her anxiety tick up a fraction. “It will feel so much better if you can relax, babe. Breathe for me.” He lined himself up but forced himself to hold still, just touching the tip of his penis to her opening because as badly as he just wanted to sink inside her, he also wanted this to be good for her. He had to hold on to his fractured control for a little while longer.

Stiles nodded, her fingers still digging deep into his arms but she finally took several deep breaths, letting them all out in a rush before finally taking one long slow breath, letting it out just as slowly. As she did, Derek could sense her anxiety dropping and he started pressing in at the same moment.

He felt the tightness of her opening resisting to the head of his penis at first, before it started to give way. Derek’s forehead came to rest on Stiles’ shoulder as he kept slowly inching into her. He found himself there for several reasons of which was (1) because with his nose tucked there he could more readily read her scent inspite of his own desires clouding his judgement, (2) he could murmur encouragement in a soft tone that would keep her focused on him instead of any possible pain that may happen and (3) because damn it all to hell she felt so damn good he could barely keep his desire to just bury himself inside her in check.

“You’re doing so good babe you feel so damn good.”

Stiles huffed a laugh that morphed into a moan a he continued to slide into her, the heel of the leg wrapped around him slipping down his back and digging into his ass cheek.

“I’m not going to break Derek, move your ass.” She emphasized her demand by lifting her hips up to meet his, drawing him the rest of the way inside of her and letting out a loud gasp in the wake of it.

Derek groaned and his hand shot to her hip, holding her in place as he tried to collect himself. The unexpected movement and the intense level of his desire was nearly his undoing. She was so damn tight, he could feel every muscle inside of her fluttering and twitching around him. He could feel her clenching, no doubt on purpose, testing the feel of him inside of her.

“Damnit, Stiles. Just one minute. I just need-“ he groaned, not even able to finish his own sentence.

Stiles breathing was short and irratic but he couldn’t smell any pain or anguish in her scent so at least he had been able to spare her any of that. She was relentless though, pushing against his grip the best she could, no doubt she will have bruises tomorrow from her efforts. It almost made Derek laugh, if he wasn’t trying so hard to get a grip on himself, because _of course_ she would be just as eager to get things going as she would be in any other scenario of her life.

Once he finally felt like he would last longer than two thrusts he made a gut decision, he shifted the weight of his body onto his other arm - the movement making them both groan in appreciation - before pulling the leg wrapped around him back down while carefully (and quickly) readjusting them until he was on his back and Stiles was above him, knees straddling his hips.

The role reversal surprised Stiles and she blinked down at him for a moment. “What the hell is happening?”

“I just thought, it’s your first time, so why not let you run the show?” He grinned up at her, his arms moving behind his head to pillow them there, very much enjoying the view as she sat up on his lap.

She looked a little unsettled, but no less sexy, in her new position but after a couple abortive test movements she got a look of determination about her. Her hands settled on his chest, leaning down to press a kiss to his mouth, her tongue easily dancing with his. The new angle caused him to slide out of her a little and he swallowed her moan, his head rising up off the pillow of his hands to keep their kiss going while she pushed back to feel him filling her up again. 

"Oh fuck," She pushed up a little, her mouth swollen and pink as she settled into an uneven but still every enjoyable rhythm of her own. Derek couldn't help but appreciate the view of her pale and slender form as she moved back and forth over his body. Her breath kept hitching with each downward motion, her ass barely making contact with his thighs before she was pushing upward again. Her breasts bounced with the movement and he found himself reaching out for one, cupping and thumbing the soft skin. Her hand snapped to his, holding his grip on her and he could feel her heartbeat drumming away under the soft skin.

Derek could feel the soft walls of her body clenching and straining against his dick and fuck but it felt so good, only the angle wasn't quite right, he needed to get deeper inside of her. 

"Here," He murmured softly, his hands moved to the insides of her knees where she hand them clamped tightly around his hips and he pushed them outward, the movement letting her sink a little deeper onto his lap.

"Oh, fuck that's even better." Stiles' eyes fell shut, her finger nails scratching absentminded marks into his stomach but he almost wished she'd scratch harder, make a mark.

"Tilt your hips towards me when you go up," His hands curved over the back of her ass, pushing until he could see her hipbones trying to protrude under the thin skin there and he could feel the head of his penis finding a new angle inside of her on the drag upward. "Nice and slow, drag it out."

She nodded, humming in appreciation.

"Now tilt your hips back," One of his hands slid around to her front, palm settling flat against the warm and flush-covered skin at the v of her legs, pushing her angle in the reverse from his previous movements. "On the way down, push down as hard as you want." They both jerked and moaned when she did, the intensity of the motion like a punch in the gut. "Again, you do it."

Stiles' was a quick learner, her motions easily changing from something unpracticed and erratic to an easy to follow pattern of slowly up, forward tilt to hard back down. With every rise and fall her movements gained confidence and speed, making them both start to sweat at the exertion of trying to hold on - to make it last - and the anticipation of what was coming.

Her hand slipped on the sweat forming on his skin under her palms and she instinctively reached out for her headboard above him with one hand, then feeling the new angle she gasped and reached out to mimic its hold, not loosing her rhythm for a moment in the transition. In fact, the new perch seemed to give her more control, pulling at the headboard to lift her up before pushing against it to push back hard against him. 

"Fuck, babe, like that." His hands found her hips, but he didn't try to control her motions or stop her, just needing somewhere to grab hold of. He felt his tenuous control starting to slip, felt the need and want of the last several 'almost' moments with her that had him left alone and achingly hard start to circle back on him like a ravenous storm under his skin. "Shit, come on babe, you can do it."

"I'm close, oh damn," Stiles' started loosing her rhythm, bouncing up and down on him with shorter but faster movements as she chased her looming orgasm and Derek did intervene then. His fingers dug into the curve of her ass, holding her firm as he started lifting his hips off the mattress to meet her motions. She let out a broken sob, her eyes scrunched shut and fingers digging into the fabric of her headboard. "Derek, yes, more, harder."

Stiles' pleas continued in broken one word requests that trailed every moan or gasp exiting her body. He was pretty sure that she didn't even realize she'd stopped pushing back against his thrusts, that she'd just given herself over entirely to the will of his own rhythm and it had his wolf growling in approval. He could appreciate the primal need to be the one that gave Stiles her release, that he was the one who took her so far out of herself she would trust that he would completely satisfy her this way.

"So - oh god, so close, Derek." She let out a frustrated groan and he knew exactly what she was feeling, watching her throw her head back and feeling her purposely clenching around him made him double his efforts.

He knew the feeling of being so damn close that it was tangible on the tip of the tongue. Seemingly so real that a person could reach out and grab it off a shelf, but then like in a dream have it always be just beyond the grasp until you felt like you might never have possession of it. It was the sweetest torture Derek could think of.

The smell of her arousal kicked up, a sudden burst of honeysuckle filling the room and he knew that she was right there, so close and he tilted his hips back a little, making it so that each inward thrust would also mean he hit hard against her swollen clitoris. One of her hands came to his shoulder, fingers digging into the divot above his collar bone and she looked at him with such surprise before she bowed back into that same taunt line over him as she had done on the bed while he was eating her out. Her neck stretched out and her voice snatched away as she shook for long moments. 

The flowery burst in the room was intoxicating and drove Derek, to the edge as he plunged harder and faster inside of Stiles', feeling her walls continue to constrict around him. He felt the fire inside of him hit an inferno peak without warning and he didn't fight it this time, his groan coming out more feral.  He gave one last hard thrust inside of her as he felt himself spilling out, his orgasm ripping from him like a bullet from a gun. 

Stiles sagged against him when his hips finally hit the mattress again, her head finding the spot on his shoulder where her fingers had just been digging into his skin. Her breathing was just as labored as his but neither moved to separate from each other. Derek's fingers released from her ass and she groaned a little, no doubt already feeling the coming bruises from his vice grip. He would feel bad about it later, he was sure, but right now he was glad of the private markings he managed to leave on her.

His hands slid up her back and his arms curled around her body, protectively keeping her pressed against him. She hummed in approval, her knees again sliding up against his hips and shins hugging the length of his thighs as she curled her arms behind his neck, one of her palms finding the back of his head as she carded her fingers through his hair. 

"That was," Her voice cracked a little and she cleared her throat before trying again. "Is it always that good?"

"No, at least not in my experience, I don't know if its ever been that good." His own throat burned from too many ragged breaths and not enough swallowing to recoat the tender muscles but he was okay with it, loved the feeling because it meant it had been so damn good his own body forgot to do a basic function.

She hummed at that, her fingers rubbing at the back of his head before she tried to shift over him. Derek held his arms firm for a moment, not letting her rise up and Stiles laughed against him, deflating before trying again and this time he loosened his arms enough so that she could look down on him. Her face was flush but her eyes gleamed and her smile was wide.

"I hope it's always like that for us," Her eyes dropped to his mouth before she followed the gaze, her lips soft over his. She kissed him lazily, her mouth now an expert in what would draw out a noise or a reaction from him. His tongue followed the retreat of her own and she sucked lightly on his tongue before pulling back, nipping at his bottom lip then licking away the tingle it caused. 

The breeze of the open window made Stiles shiver and Derek finally conceded that she might be cold, though he didn't want to give up this position of being inside of her and regretfully slid out of her. She made small noises of protest, especially when he rolled to his side and slid her off of him. He readjusted them until he was pulling the covers over their body and she found a place along side of him with her head pressed where his shoulder met his chest and one palm rested over his heart.

He listened closely to the beat of her heart as they calmed down, the smell of her arousal mixed with his own made a new and even more intoxicating scent that he couldn't quite name yet. All he knew was that every part of him - both human and wolf - enjoyed the scent immensely and never wanted it to fade. 

"What are you thinking about, Sourwolf?" He felt Stiles' head tip up slightly and knew she was looking at him.

He turned his head enough that he could look back at her, smiling lightly. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Try." He felt her leg slide over one of his, her shin tucking between his legs and he liked the possessiveness of it. 

He hummed for a moment, his fingers brushing against the short hairs on her head, feeling the softness of it. "Well, you know how I said you have a scent, that when you're aroused you have a specific scent."

She got a slightly devious grin on her face, nodding against his shoulder. "Yeah you said I smelled like honeysuckle in summer."

He cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable at how easily she recounted exactly what he said and how quickly it flowed off her tongue.

"Why, Derek Hale, are you blushing?"

He rolled his eyes at her giggle but didn't resist when she hugged him a little tighter, loving the feeling of her body pressing closer to his with no barriers of any kind - be it clothing or emotional. 

"Anyway, back to what you were thinking about, other than you being a perv getting high off my scent."

He made a false huff of annoyance, because honestly that wasn't too far off the mark. "But now it's changed a little, because we've been together. I can't really put a finger on what the new scent is, I know I like it but I'm not really sure what it is that I smell."

She hummed for a moment, as if seriously considering the 'problem'. "So, now it smells like us, but you're not sure what your scent smells like? Is that it?"

He thought about it for a moment before conceding to the possibility. "I suppose that could be it. I've never had anyone tell me what it smells like."

"Even when you were still at the facility, none of the other wolf-babies compared scents?"

Derek cut her a sideways glance at the 'wolf-babies' comment but she just shrugged and he rolled his eyes. "Well, first of all we were half out of our minds from the changes they were putting on our bodies, we really didn't spend much time together unless it was training after the surgeries. And to my knowledge no one had anything to be aroused about while we where there." He tried to suppress his grin at Stiles' laugh, but it was hard not to be grateful to have someone to share these thoughts with. That someone could help him find any trace of lightheartedness in such a dark part of his life. 

"Okay, Sourwolf, I'll give you that one." She was quite for a moment before she lifted herself up on her forearm and looked down at him. "I could tell you what your scent is."

He felt his mouth quirk up in a half smile at that, his brow raising in curiosity. "Oh really, do you have some talents that you've been keeping from me babe?"

She leaned down biting at his chin before pressing a kiss to his mouth, rising up again she winked at him. "I have to keep an air of mystery about me so you don't get bored, don't I?"

"I see no chance of that happening babe. I wouldn't worry."

She lifted her chin up in mock pride, or perhaps real pride, he wasn't exactly sure. "Good, lets be sure it stays that way. Now," Her voice took on a serious tone as she slid over him again, straddling his body as she had just done before and already he felt his dick twitch with interest. "Lets get down to this scenting business."

He felt the rumble of his wolf deep in his chest, wondered if she could feel it under her palms as she leaned down to press her nose against his neck. 

"Here is where you smell it best, right?" One of her hands slid up the other side of his neck, cradling it there as she inhaled deeply. "You're always putting your nose here, breathing deep and licking." She mimicked the motions as she spoke of them, narrating his actions with skilled precision. 

He groaned unintentionally, but the fact that she had been paying such close attention, that she was mirroring things he tried hard to control - but clearly failed to do so with her - was nearly as sexy as when she took him into her mouth for the first time. It felt just as good. He nodded, finally remembering to answer her question, "And behind the ear."

She hummed in approval, her nose sliding up behind the soft shell of his ear and he heard her deep intake of breath, felt the rush of it leaving her lungs against his hair. "Now I have it." Her mouth was hot and wet against his skin, leaving open kisses and using lots of tongue and teeth against the entire length of his neck before lifting up enough to gaze down at him. 

"You smell like the forest," He nearly rolled his eyes at her, because come on - he lived in the woods, but she gave him a stern look, holding up one finger to pause his actions. "I'm not done yet. It's not just the forest itself, it's - you know that smell after a really heavy rain? When the dirt is wet and smells kind of musty? Everything smells washed clean but there is just this smell of _nature_ that's so impossible to deny. Everything is a little heavy and still damp but smells like earth and it just draws you in." Her eyes had taken a distant, far away look before she finally looked back down at him, a broad smile on her face while a pink haze bloomed on her cheeks. "Do you know what I mean?"

Derek nodded, honestly a little choked and cleared his throat. He was never one for crying and while he didn't actually think he was going to start in this moment, it was a little unsettling how thick he could feel the ball of emotion in his throat over her words. He had always wondered what it would be like to have someone in his life who could tell him things about himself that he couldn't see - to give him perspective. He had never ever expected it would come in the form of this beautiful seventeen year old woman who had waltzed into his life and single handedly turned it all upside down.

"That's it," He took a breath, letting their mingling scents fill his nose again before he tried to speak again. "It smells like honeysuckle and rain and earth. God, it's perfect."

Stiles leaned down, kissing him with renewed zeal and Derek pulled her closer to him as he shifted her underneath him, her ankles instinctively curling around his thighs.

“I’m becoming obsessed with you, Stiles. If you keep it up, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let you get away.” He hadn’t intended on saying it, he didn’t even have a chance to think it before the words were spilling out. His palm slid between their bodies, fingers finding their goal and started circling and pressing against her clitoris, earning a jerky moan and her fingers scratching against his scalp as she held onto his hair.

”Good, then my evil plan is working.” She grinned at him, her hips rolling forward against his hardening length that was pressed against her thigh. 

“Babe. You’re going to be the death of me. I just know it.” He wasn’t complaining. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Thanks for reading!!!! 
> 
> I don’t know about you guys, but I am someone who needs time to mentally prepare for the last of anything: last piece of cake, last episode of a series, last chapter of a book, etc. 
> 
> So I wanted to give you some fair warning that the next chapter - Chapter 10 - will be the ending of this tale of Stiles + the Big Bad Sourwolf. I hope you’ve enjoyed it even half as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you. :)


	10. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 days until the new moon from Stiles POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... Sooo it turns out I'm a horrible liar. lol Hopefully I can be forgiven though since I really genuinely thought there was only going to be one more chapter. But as I tried to wrap things up, it continued morphing into this beast of a chapter!!!! (no pun intended lol) So then I tried to break it into a chapter and an epilogue but that didn't feel right either. So, I'm not sure how many chapters are still coming - I'll try to give for REAL warning when I know. lol Maybe. Maybe I should just let it happen?! 
> 
> Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I have a few key things I feel like need to happen before I end this story so depending on how winded Stiles gets (erm, how winded I get??), will decide how many more sections I break this into. I just know my busy season is in full swing already and I don't want to drag this out for months and months while I'm working nonstop lol 
> 
> Alright! I'm done! I hope you enjoy it! :)

**6 Days Until the New Moon**

When Stiles woke the next morning she felt as if she’d run a marathon. She could feel every muscle in her body give a twinge of protest as she stretched, palms pressing against her headboard and toes pointing. She let out a contented sigh as she relaxed, if cardio was more like sex, she would have been a dedicated athlete throughout high school. She suspected, however, that unless Derek had been her gym teacher, no amount of awards would have ever made her strive for the gold quite like he made her work for that satisfying finish with him.

Stiles turned toward the warm body next to her. Derek was deep in sleep, his head turned away from her flat on her mattresses. She wasn’t sure when he had ditched the pillow, or where he had tossed it, but it was one of those insignificant things a person learns about their partner only through time spent together. In quite moments like this where only the two of them seemed to exist. Stiles knew the world beyond her open window continued on, but it was so tempting to just want to bar all that from her mind and never leave this space.

Her comforter had shifted down low over Derek’s hips, leaving his back and just the start of the upward curve of his ass exposed. She let her hand hover over his skin and she could feel his natural heat just radiate off of him, he was like a constant fire and she was no doubt the moth drawn towards it. She let her fingers make contact just under his hairline, slowly and softly drifting them over his spine. She watched as his muscles involuntarily jumped at the unrecognized touch before smoothing out again. Her fingers dipped against the slope of his lower back before sliding under the comforter and splaying over the globe of his ass.

“I don’t want to hear another comment about me being a pervert,” Stiles jerked in surprise at the rough tone of Derek’s morning voice. He cleared his throat before turning his head, resting his other cheek on the mattress and raising a brow at her. “When you’re basically trying to molest me in my sleep.” Stiles gave his ass an extra squeeze before she pulled herself closer to him, draping herself half over him and kissing his spine between his shoulder blades.

“You’re still a pervert, but you’re in good company because Scott says I am one too.” She sighed against Derek’s skin and snuggled closer for a moment. “You are so warm, have you always been like a furnace or did that change after the surgeries?”

He was quite for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t remember.” He shifted a little under her, giving her a crooked smile. “I like that it makes you move closer to me though. You feel good like that.”

She hummed her pleasure at the comment before taking a bite of his shoulder blade and rolling off of him. “I’ll be back, my bladder won’t let me stay in bed another minute.” She pulled Derek’s shirt off the floor and pulled it overhead, the hemline falling high on her thighs but loose around her shoulders and everywhere else.

“It’s a good look on you.” He stole her pillow then, fisting it and shoving it under his head as she made her way to the bathroom.

“Thanks, I might just keep it.” Even though she knew her dad wasn’t home, she still found herself pulling the hemline a little lower as she quickly moved from her bedroom to the bathroom across the hall.

Once she was safely inside she looked at herself in the mirror and had a tiny moment of celebration/freak out.

She turned the faucet on before she started whispering to herself, hoping to keep Derek from hearing her monologue - and, if being totally honest, not really wanting to hear her when she started to pee.

“I just slept with Derek Hale! I’m not a virgin anymore!” She did a little happy dance, fists punching in the air in victory motions. “I have a naked man in my bed, oh my god!”

She took several deep breaths, told her self to ‘be cool’ before she made a complete fool of herself. After relieving herself she made sure to brush her teeth and washed the sleep from her face before she moved back to her bedroom.

Derek was already hopping into his jeans when she returned.

“Hey! I didn’t say you could get out of bed!”

Derek’s brow rose at the statement. He laughed under his breath. “It maybe Saturday for you, but I have to open my store soon. And I still have to get my car, go home and change first.”

She couldn’t help the pout that came over her. “I thought I was going to be able to cross morning sex off my list.”

Derek laughed more fully then, moving closer to her in only his jeans. “I’ll make it up to you.” He dropped his head, his nose buried deep against her throat before he placed several warm kisses there.

When he pulled back his finger traced along the collar of the shirt, tugging at it lightly as his gaze dropped down and she tilted her chin back, giving him an unobstructed view of what he could have if only he stayed. She heard his groan and could see his resolve wavering but then he was sighing - and not in a ‘ _I’m so hot for you_ ’ way, but more like a ‘ _I hate being a responsible adult_ ’ kind of way.

“I’m afraid I need this. I didn’t bring any others, or a jacket.” He really did look sorry that he had to ask, his eyes drifting to the pale skin of her thighs as the shirt rustled over them. “I can give it back to you later, if you want it. I like seeing you in my clothes.”

“Good.” Both because she liked being in his clothes and that he seemed genuinely pained to have to ask for it back.

In a move much bolder than she felt, Stiles stepped back from his touch and crossed her arms at the hem of the shirt, lifting it over her head in one smooth motion. She stood there, completely naked and exposed to him with his shirt extended in hand. She expected to feel cold, embarrassed, silly even. But the heat of his gaze raked over her like hot coals and she felt _sexy_. For the first time in her life, she felt completely desired and it was a heady thing.

Derek’s mouth hung open a little, his eyes flashing the ruby red they sometimes did and she could practically feel the faint rumble of the growl that was coming low in his throat.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

Spurred on by his open desire she stepped closer to him, pressing the shirt into his hands as she pressed her body against his. Her fingers curled around the base of his neck and she brought his head down enough that she could whisper into his ear.

“Don’t wash the shirt, I want it to still smell like you when I get it back.” She bit his earloab and felt the rumble all the way to the backs of her knees.

It was so satisfying to feel the prick of his claws on her ass when he pulled her closer, heard the carefully calculated breaths that Derek kept dragging in as he tried to regain control of himself.

“God Stiles you’re playing with fire here.”

“I’m not scared, Sourwolf.” She pressed a kiss to the lobe and then along his jawline. “If you can’t stay, can I come and see you at the store today?”

She felt the claws recede after several controlled and quite moments of breathing, then Derek’s palms were smoothing over the places he had just gripped, a quite apology. Stiles wasn’t complaining in the first place, but this felt good too, so who was she to argue?

When he lifted his head and looked at her again, his eyes were forest green again but concerned. “Yeah, you can come. We need to talk about the next several days anyway.” He kissed her forehead and stepped back, pulling on the shirt she’d just been wearing before sitting on the bed to pull his socks and shoes on.

Stiles sat on the bed too, tucking her comforter under her armpits as she watched him dress to go. She couldn’t really explain why it hurt so bad to watch him leave. He hadn’t been any less than amazing to her, but still it felt like the whole that she had been living with most of her life started to feel not quite as sharp around the edges with him near. And now he was leaving again and she could feel the cutting edges all around her like they had never left.

When Derek finished tying his shoes he looked up at her and she tried to give an easy and positive smile, she hoped it went all the way to her eyes.

“Babe?”

Stiles shook her head, smiling more fiercely, determined to be a big girl about this. “I’ll see you soon.”

He shifted closer on the bed, taking one of her free hands. “You know I can hear your heartbeat.”

She gave a nervous huff of a laugh. “Yeah, I am fine. I swear. I just hate that you have to go. But I’m ok.”

Derek observed her for several quite moments before he pressed the palm of her hand to his lips. “I don’t want to go either, trust me. But for right now I have to, just for a while.”

She knew he meant more than just because of opening the store. He meant because she was still underaged.

“Go back to sleep,” He squeezed her hand once more before standing, dmoving for the window again. “And when you’re ready, come up to the store.”

She didn’t move from her spot on the bed, nodding as she tried to paste on a brave smile, watching him go. She tried to tell her self that what he said was true, this was just for a while. Not forever.

* * *

Stiles waited until her dad got home from his double shift, making him a late breakfast before he went to bed because she knew he would either not eat or just eat some kind of crap from a box at the sink. Neither option was good for his cholesterol.

Once she was sure that he was well fed - though she had to ignore her father’s comments on whether or not the descriptive term ‘well’ was accurate when he had to eat turkey bacon instead of real bacon - and in bed for the next several hours, Stiles headed to Secondhand Stories.

Stiles wasn’t sure if it would always be like this, butterflies and excitement at the thought of seeing Derek again, but she liked that it was like that now. Temporary or not, she wanted to savor the feeling of needing to be near him.

She wasn’t sure exactly when her ‘house arrest’ had ended but her dad eventually just stopped telling her she had to be home right after school and she no longer had her own personal patrol car following her around town. Stiles would feel guilty about abusing her father’s tentatively restored trust in her, but it wasn’t like deep down that her father didn’t know where to find her. She would probably only be with one of two people - and Scott had lacrosse practice today.

When she pulled up to Derek’s store she checked her face in the mirror, questioning her decision to put on mascara and a touch of eyeliner. She didn’t always wear makeup, but when she did she sometimes felt like a little girl playing dress up with her mother’s makeup.

She sighed, pushing the short hairs on her head around. They were getting longer and she couldn’t decided if she wanted to shave it short again or grow it out. It had been such a long time since she had hair longer than a half inch to an inch long, that she wasn’t even sure what she’d look like. Giving up on her hair woes, she climbed out of the Jeep and fixed the hem of her shirt before tucking the Jeep key under the visor. No one in Beacon Hills dared touch the sheriff’s daughter’s blue baby anyway. So she never worried overly much about leaving the keys in it.

The bells above the door to the store jingled her arrival and Derek shouted front the back that he would be up in a moment. Before Stiles could even start to browse the new books he had stacked onto the counter, Derek was emerging from an aisle with a heavy armful if books. When he saw her, his smile bloomed so much easier than before they had been _together_. It made him look so much younger.

“Hi,” his eyes flowed easily over her body as he set the books onto the counter. “You look pretty.”

She couldn’t help the blush that burned bright on her cheeks at the praise. Partly it was nice to hear, especially from someone with his level of attractiveness, and partly it was embarrassment because she had fussed over what to wear today. She never really expected to become one of those girls who worry how she looks before seeing a guy she liked - hell, she liked Liam for years and never even ironed a shirt after she plucked it from the floor, sniffed it and if it wasn’t too ripe, pulled it on before school - but with Derek she wanted to try. She wanted him to notice.

She wore a low scoop tank top in an olive green color that she’d been told complimented her skin tone, dark denim shorts that were snug against her hips and ass (and far too short if you’d asked her dad). She had tied her favorite flannel shirt around her waist, because one never knew how cold a store would be. It also felt like a safety blanket, a constent reminder so she didn't feel like she had completely abandon her usual self when she ‘dressed up’. The over-the-top addition to her outfit was a pair of wedged sandals with black canvas tops and cork bottoms.

She’d been told that if a girl really wanted her legs to look endless and her ass to look it’s best, wear heels. Stiles didn’t own any heels but she had these, and she hoped that still counted. The way Derek’s eyes kept moving over her legs, she had a feeling she did at least a little something right.

"What are you up to?" She hoped her voice sounded more casual than she felt, moving towards the counter and lightly running her fingers over the worn and battered top.

Derek cleared his throat and set the books down onto the faded wood. "Finishing up some inventory work. I normally would have done it on Friday night, but I was a little preoccupied."

Stiles flushed a little, looked a way as she bit her bottom lip to hide the giddy feeling that rushed up unexpectedly. When she looked back, Derek was watching her movements, his chest rising and falling a little quicker than before under the tight red shirt he'd donned today. She couldn't help but watch the way the muscles under his biceps bunched and pulled under the fabric, she could easily imagine the way the felt under her fingers as she held on to them with all of her -

"Okay, stop!" Derek hunched over the counter top, forearms propping him up and fists clenched together propping up his forehead. His thumbs looked like they were trying to push his own eyeballs out behind closed lids. "I'm going to drown here if you don't start thinking about something else."

Stiles took several shuddering breaths and nodded, more to herself than to Derek who was still trying to calm himself with eyes forced closed. "Sorry, I just can't help it."

Derek shifted his head to give her a sideways glare.

"But I'll try, seriously I will." She untied the flannel from around her waist and tossed it onto the counter, even the little bit of extra fabric had made her feel like she was on fire at the moment.

"How about I help you?"

Derek's glare intensified.

"Not like that! I meant like with the books, like I can put books away. On the shelves. Way, way over there."

Derek took another deep breath, scrubbing his face in his hands before he stood. "Okay fine."

Stiles mouth went dry as her eyes dropped of their own accord, she really didn't mean to look. Even behind the dark wash jeans she could tell he was already so hard. She slapped a hand to her mouth, though she hadn't even said anything, her other hand on her hip as she turned away for several seconds. _What the hell was wrong with her?_

She could hear rustling behind her but she was honestly surprised when she felt Derek's hands rest on her bare arms. "There's nothing wrong with you."

She didn't remember saying that out loud.

"It's me, I'm trying to keep control of myself and it's getting harder every day." His hands started drifting up and down her arms, and it made her shiver in response. "I know what it feels like to touch and taste you, so when I smell where your thoughts are going, it starts making me-" His voice trailed off and Stiles was minutely aware that as he'd bee speaking he'd edged his body closer and closer behind her until they were fully flush. His head had kept bending, closer and closer until the tip of his nose was dragging up the length of her neck, nuzzling behind her ear.

"Derek," She breathed his name, not really sure if she was asking or pleading - to stop or to keep going. Her whole body was a tingling mess and all she could do was just stand there and let it wash over her, tilting her head to the side to bare her neck more to him.

Just as she felt the hot moist air of his breath hovering above her skin, a car horn honked outside and they both jumped. Derek took a step back, muttering something to himself. Stiles turned to see him shoving one hand into his pocket and the other gripping his hair at the back of his neck. He looked guilty, irritated, and sexy as hell. 

"Derek, it's okay." She stepped forward and he let her press her palm to his cheek, though she could tell by the tense way he was standing that he felt it wrong to do so. "Let's just work on something before we end up christening your countertop and scarring anyone who walks by." She meant it as a joke, but the way his eyes darkened as he stared at the counter in question told her it might have been too soon. "How about this?" She took a very specific step back, clasping her hands behind her back and waiting for him to meet her gaze.

Derek's eyebrow rose as he looked over her posture, but the hand that had been working in his hair came down, thumb tucking into his other front pocket. He took a deep breath and she could see the tight muscles in his shoulders unclenching minutely.

"How about I go get us some coffee while you, I don't know, do some push ups or something to blow off steam. Then when I get back you can give me a job and we can just start over. We will just hang out and not act like you just got home from an over seas deployment and I'm some sex starved wifey who has been waiting desperately for you to ravage me."

A small smirk joined his raised brow. "Another fantasy of yours?"

Stiles shrugged, but her smile was telling. She moved towards him, putting a hand on his chest before she pressed a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back in ten." As she moved past him, she couldn't help but let her hand swing back to smack his ass, thoroughly enjoying the grunt that erupted behind her while tiny bells jingled over her head.

* * *

They settled into an easy work day after that, Derek seemingly under much better control of himself when she had returned with two steaming coffees from her favorite café downtown. Though it took much more force than it might ought to have needed to keep herself from picturing Derek in his back office jacking off to the image of them on his front counter. She knew he would be able to tell if she allowed herself even a tiny fantasy and clearly he was having hard enough time keeping himself in check that she didn't feel like it was very fair of her. 

So she settled into figuring out Derek's system of checking in books, sorting them into aisle piles and then putting them away. Derek worked quietly, but she enjoyed watching him move, watching his eyes darting back and forth over book titles and spines. Sometimes she would catch him mouthing the words to himself and she was sure he didn't realize that he'd been doing it. He was easy to be around, every once and a while their paths crossing and he'd give her a wink or an easy smile that made her insides feel buttery and soft. He smelled good too, clean and fresh. Not like most guys her age who drowned themselves in colognes, Derek's enhanced senses would no doubt keep him from even sparse amounts of artificial fragrances. Not that he needed it, his own scent was naturally alluring.

Derek cleared his throat from a couple aisles over and Stiles was grateful he couldn't see her blush as she focused on reading a book spine and adding it to the pile in her arms. She headed down a different aisle than Derek, willing the heat from her cheeks to calm down and looking for the area that he made for dreams. 

"Do you dream as a wolf or as a human?" Stiles didn't know where the question had come from, but now that it was in the air, she felt it was fairly valid. She noticed that the author closest to the one in her hands was on the top shelf and she set the books in her hands down on a closer shelf before she started hunting for the step ladder that Derek had pulled out for her earlier.

Derek didn't answer at first, which didn't put her off because she was learning - more so today than ever before - he was someone who thought about what he was going to say before he said it. Sometimes it would only take him a minute or two to reply, other times it took longer. But Stiles always found she was greatly rewarded for her patience, a virtue no one would ever have claimed she had.

"Sometimes it varies."

Stiles listened carefully as she pulled the step ladder where she wanted, adjusting it so that she was near where she had originally been standing. 

"Sometimes I start as a human and then the dream will change and I'll be a wolf - a full wolf, running on four legs."

"Like with fur and everything?"

Derek hummed his agreement. 

"Do you ever wish you could completely shift in real life?" Stiles plucked a couple of the books from her pile, noticing that the were not that far apart in author name before she started climbing the few stairs of the step ladder.

"Maybe, I don't know." Derek was quite for several more minutes before he started again. "Sometimes I feel stuck in the middle, not quite a human and not quite a wolf. I think it would be satisfying to feel completely one way or the other, even if just for a while. It can be very confusing at times."

Stiles nodded, standing only on the second step as she listened to Derek's voice rumbling. It was a soothing sound but she hated hearing the ache in his timber. It was easy for her to imagine him loosing himself, running through the woods near his home at breakneck speeds with a glossy black fur coat bouncing in the wind. He would be beautiful even as an animal.

"Be careful up there, would you?"

Stiles let out a yelp of surprise, reaching out to grip the bookcase with her free hand before glaring at him. "First of all, quit sneaking up on me like that. I'm going to get you a bell. Secondly, I'm only like five inches off the ground. And third, don't you know that telling someone to be careful is like the quickest way to hurt someone? Seriously, it's like those idiots who tell dancers to break a leg before they go on stage. Everyone is all 'oh it's good luck to say that' but when a dancer eventually breaks their leg, who do you think everyone looks at?" Stiles didn't need Derek to respond, "The idiot who said 'break a leg'."

"Did you just call me an idiot?" Derek smirked at her.

Stiles stammered because she supposed she did, but she was more shocked that he had kept up with her train of thought. Usually he said something like 'your brain works too fast' or 'what are you even talking about'. Now that she just called him an idiot, he now was keeping up with her? Of course.

He walked back around the corner and she could hear him pushing books onto the shelf just on the other side. She moved up the extra two steps on the ladder, steadying herself on the shelf for a moment before wishing she'd taken off the wedges. Once she was feeling more secure in her position she looked at the book spines again, then running her finger along the spines of books already shelved, wedging a finger in between two authors to make a space for a book she was about to put away.

"You should get some help in here."

"You're helping me."

Stiles scoffed, "You're not paying me to help you. I'm helping so I can spend time with you without trying to rip your clothes off."

"Babe."

Stiles knew she shouldn't feel a giddy rush every time he called her that, especially since most of the time it was said in such a way that she couldn't tell if it was with affection or with irritation. Secretly, she knew it could be a bit of both at any given moment. Which she was surprisingly okay with.

"I'm serious, Sourwolf. This summer I will be officially graduated from high school, I'll be eighteen and I want to spend it on the beach with my stupid hot boyfriend."

She heard his chuckle as more books slid across shelves. "Stupid hot boyfriend, huh?"

"Don't get distracted from the subject at hand." Still, even she couldn't help be pleased at the fact that he had easily allowed her to call him her boyfriend, didn't even seem to flinch at the idea of it. "You need someone here who you can trust to run the store."

Derek didn't respond, but that wasn't a no either so Stiles pressed on.

"What about Scott?"

"Your friend Scott who more than mildly disapproves of me, that Scott?"

Stiles didn't respond for a moment of her own, because that wasn't an inaccurate description. "He is just looking out for me, that's all. But he would be a hard worker and I can totally vouch for his trust worthiness."

"I'll think about it." And again, that wasn't a no.

Satisfied enough for the moment, Stiles reached a little further to push the second book she'd had in her hand into place. A book caught her eye and she tugged it free, reading the spine. 

"You know I watched this porno once where this girl was asleep - and imagine me using air quotes there because obviously she wasn't asleep - on the couch with like only her robe on. So this guy comes up behind her and starts staring at her like a total perv, and she's got to be on drugs or something because he just starts touching her and undressing her and before she even wakes up he's like _inside_ of her. It's crazy to think that someone could be so interested in sleeping with someone who isn't even responding. Like I would be pissed if I was giving you my all and you were just snoring away, I -"

Stiles gave a yelp when she realized Derek was standing directly behind her again. She started loosing her balance, knocking several books that had been perched on the ledge to the floor and grabbing for the book case. Derek's hand was there in an instant, helping her to right herself, but not leaving her ass or hip even once she was settled again.

"Derek, again with the sneaking shit."

"Why the hell are you talking about pornos and having sex with sleeping people?" His grip on her ass tightened minutely but otherwise he was a vision of complete and calculated control. 

Stiles held up the book she'd been looking at in feeble response. "'Understanding Somnophilia', I was making conversation. I honestly don't think I was getting aroused but I suppose talking about porn and sex probably isn't my wisest choise for casual conversation right now, huh?"

Derek's level gaze needed no interpretation. 

"My bad," She turned and pushed the book back into it's proper place. She realized after a moment that Derek was still holding onto her. "But uh, your hand on my ass, not exactly going to derail my thoughts."

She couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her when he surprised her by pressing his shoulder into her thigh, forcing her to tip back onto his shoulder. She gripped onto his hair tightly and her other hand making a poor attempt at holding onto his arm. Her laughter died in her throat when his fingers trailed up the inside of her leg, starting at her ankle. The further he moved up her thigh the more her throat dried out and her fingers tightened in his hair. She thought about his back office, the one he'd mentioned but she had yet to see. If they couldn't have sex on the front counter, maybe his office had a desk that could serve as a substitute stand in.

Just as she was about to suggest they move into the other room, the tiny bells at the front door jingled. Derek's hand stopped it's motion, seemingly frozen in place and at Stiles' vantage point she could see the top of woman's head passing through the entryway. 

"Hello?"

"Oh shit," Stiles whispered more to herself in shock, she knew that voice. She pushed her thighs against Derek's chest, forcing herself off the perch of his shoulder and slid down the front of his body. If his lightning reflexes hadn't been there, then she would have no doubt smacked her face into one of the bookshelves on her way down. She scrambled away from him, ducking behind the closest aisle endcap before barely turning her head to look in Derek's very confused direction. She pressed a single finger to her lips, shushing any possible question he may have wanted to ask her.

"I'll be right there." Derek gave Stiles another frown before he turned away and started walking towards the front counter. 

Stiles adjusted her stance an turned in the other direction, knowing it would give her a better view of the two people conversing at the front of the store.

Derek moved easily behind the counter, shifting the mess of books they'd been sorting out of the way before he gave the woman his full attention. "How can I help you?"

"So you're Derek," The woman wasn't asking, merely sating a fact.

Derek's brow twitched but he didn't actually frown at her, making Stiles' wonder how much control that actually took. "Excuse me?"

She gave him an easy smile, her hands dipping into the front pockets of her scrubs as she turned slightly where she stood, the store being eclipsed in her view. "This is a nice store, you've made a lot of really great improvements since you've been here."

"Thank you," Stiles' wasn't sure if Derek was stating his thanks or asking. "Did you need something?"

The woman shrugged, "Depends on what you mean by need. Do I need a book, no." She gave him another easy smile. "Do I need Stiles' to stop cowering in the corner and introduce me properly, yes, very much so." 

To Derek's credit, he didn't even so much as flick a gaze in the direction where she'd been hiding. If it was left to him, her secret hideout would be safe.

"Your Jeep is parked smack in front of the store, dear, you're fooling no one." The woman didn't look in Stiles' direction either, though she was now suspecting the only one who truly believed she was incognito was herself.

Finally Stiles sighed and resigned herself to the inevitable, shoving her hands into her back pockets and moving towards the front of the store.

"There she is, adorable as always." The woman opened her arms, inviting into a comforting hug as she pressed a kiss to Stiles' temple. When she'd been properly embraced the woman moved back some, but kept her arm draped naturally around Stiles' shoulders.

When Stiles met Derek's gaze he was frowning at her, but his eyes kept darting back to the mystery woman.

"Derek, meet Ms. McCall, Scott's mom." Stiles added the last part when he still looked confused at the sir-name.

"Melissa is just fine," The woman who helped raise Stiles put her hand out for Derek to take and he reached back tentatively as realization dawned on him as to who she really was. "It's nice to put a face with the name, though I must admit the name came from Scott and not Stiles." She gave Stiles a look of faux disapproval and even though she knew she wasn't really in trouble, Stiles still couldn't help the flush of embarrassment that washed over her.

"Sorry, still kind of new and dad's been freaking out."

"Well, can you blame him? Look at this guy." Melissa did indeed look and Derek shuffled uncomfortably. "I can appreciate what you see, but our boys are only seeing a grown man who is twice their size and hunting their daughter. Respectively," Melissa added the last part with a wink, as if her description needed clarifying.

Stiles hid her face in her hand, trying to shake the need to both laugh and die of mortification. “Melissa, please stop.”

She didn’t stop.

“So Derek, what is it about our Stiles that caught your eye?”

Stiles groaned, mouthing that she was ‘so sorry’ to Derek when his gaze flicked to hers for a moment.

“I assume you mean besides the fact that she’s beautiful.”

Stiles breath caught for a moment, because it while it wasn’t the first time he’d said so, it was the first time he’d said it about her to another person. And he’d said it so casually, so easily, and not while she was underneath him naked and wanting him.

Derek slid a small glare in her direction, before moving his gaze back to Melissa’s. The older woman just smiled back at him.

“Yes, besides that. Though, I’ll give you points for opening with that.”

Derek’s gaze moved back to Stiles, but there was something much softer and more contemplative, like he was really assessing her. “I think the first thing that really caught my attention, would be how unafraid she is to be herself. The first time I met her, she decided we were going to be friends,” his features cracked into a grin then. “And I had really no say so in the matter. She wasn’t afraid when I didn’t respond to half of the things she said, or when I basically told her to get lost.”

“More than basically,” Stiles couldn’t help but add, though even she could hear the awe in her voice.

He smirked a little when he agreed, “Probably more than basically. But she didn’t leave me alone, even after that. She kept pushing me until I acknowledged that she was staying. She’s more resilient and stronger than she gives herself credit for.”

Melissa hummed and it was the first time they both remembered she’d been there, that she was the one who prompted this question and answer session. “I have to say, I like that answer.” Melissa pressed another soft kiss to Stiles’ temple before smoothing down the ruffled too short/too long hairs at her hairline. “I agree with all those things.”

Stiles smiled at Melissa, her chest tightening at being able to share space with two people who meant so much to her without tension or argument. It gave her a ghost of a feeling as to what it might be like if her mother had been able to meet Derek for the first time. Her throat bobbed and she had to look away, anywhere but at the two people who were watching her with keen eyes and even keener senses.

Melissa brought attention back to herself and Stiles didn’t doubt that it was on purpose. “Did Stiles tell you that she and my son have been friends for years? I’ve gotten to watch her grow up.”

Derek nodded, looking pained when he moved his eyes from Stiles and back to Melissa. “She mentioned they have been friends for most of their lives.”

“Probably all that they can remember anyway. We moved in next door when they were just babies. I was instantly best friends with her mother, so they really had no choice but to either be friends or fall in love one day.”

Stiles scoffed at the last part. “Mom practically had us engaged at seven.” She leaned her head on Melissa’s shoulder because the memory made her ache but in a way that she would never regret.

Melissa laughed, “That’s true, and I think Scott would have completely gone alone with it. Except then you started kindergarten and you met Liam Martin.”

“Liam Martin?” Derek repeated with amusement because he could no doubt completely scent her embarrassment.

Stiles groaned again, pulling back from Melissa’s hold enough to glare at her. “Seriously?”

“It was cute,” Melissa shrugged. “Scott thought he was heartbroken for all of ten minutes before Liam shoved you down in the sandpit, and then he decided he was going to be your protector.”

Stiles raised her eyes to the ceiling and willed the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

“Of course, then in first grade you shot up about two inches taller than him and you pretty much became the protector of your dynamic duo.”

Stiles couldn’t help the huff of laugh at the thought of all the years they played tag in the game of who was taller. They ended up leveling out to about the same height in their sophomore and junior years, but finally over the summer Scott passed her up by several inches.

“Can we please stop this awful session of embarrassing Stiles’ stories?” She pressed both palms in front of her in a prayer pose, shaking her flattened hands back and forth between the older woman and herself.

Melissa smiled again but nodded, “For now. Though this should be a lesson that you can’t keep things from me when your best friend is my son.”

Stiles nodded in grim agreement, “A fact for which I will be murdering him for later.”

“Oh go easy on him, otherwise I’ll be in my house all alone. Then you’d have to come and keep me company instead of spending time with Derek.” She gave Derek a conspiratory wink.

“No Mr. McCall then?” It was the first question Derek asked.

Melissa shook her head with a sweet smile. “Not in many years. I only keep the last name so I can have the same as Scott’s, otherwise I’d have gone back to my maiden name years ago. But that isn’t a first time meeting kind of story, that’s more of a Thanksgiving dinner kind of story, wouldn’t you say?” Melissa pretended she was actually consulting Stiles on this, though they both knew Melissa was the one steering this conversation.

“Thanksgiving dinner? That’s - that’s far from now.” Derek looked something akin to a deer in headlights.

“Mel, you’re going to scare him off.” Stiles ducked her head in Melissa’s direction, dropping her voice even though she belatedly remembered that he would be able to hear her as though she spoke at normal tones.

Melissa gave him an assessing once over, “I disagree. I don’t think you’re giving him enough credit, dear. Though, I will say, if he’s scared off at the thought of a family dinner months from now, then he deserves to be scared off.” Melissa gave Derek a smile that said she neither thought Derek was scared or that he was about to be run off. “And if you’re worried about the time between now and then, I can assure you, I have plenty of stories about Stiles to fill many dinners until then.”

“Dinners until then,” Derek repeated to himself with a bewildered tone of voice. He was nodding though, so Stiles had to assume that counted for something.

“Your dad is up and wondering where you are by the way.” That brought Stiles attention back from trying to decern Derek’s thoughts to Melissa. “Apparently he’s been calling and texting Scott all through practice, thinking you must be with him and wondering why you aren’t answering your phone.”

“Oh shit, what time is it?” Stiles patted herself down, realizing she hadn’t thought about the time or her phone in quite a while. “It must be in the Jeep.”

Melissa gave a knowing smile, “I’m sure it is. It’s after four.”

Stiles didn’t even have to say ‘oh shit’ again, it was no doubt etched all over her face. “When did that happen?”

Melissa just gave Stiles’ cheek a couple of soft pats before she turned back to Derek. “It was nice putting a face to the name. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Derek nodded, agreeing. “Thanks for sharing the stories.”

Stiles waiting until the door closed behind Melissa before she turned to Derek. “I’m sorry, I need to go. Dad is calming down and I don’t want to freak him out again.” Even still she found herself moving towards him, not able to leave without touching him again.

In her wedged heels she didn’t have to reach up to loop her arms around his neck, enjoyed the feeling of his warmth pressing though their clothes as he pulled her closer to him.

“I hope Melissa didn’t totally freak you out.”

The corner of Derek’s mouth quirked up at the thought. “I think she freaked you out a bit more than me. But I’m still not really sure what just happened. Did she come here to scope me out or to tell you to go home, or something else?”

“I think all of the above,” Stiles leaned forward, running the top of her nose along the stubble of his jawline. “Pretty sure she just welcomed you to the family.” Stiles only got one bite in at the hinge of his jaw before his mouth was finding hers.

He pressed his palm against the back of her head, tilting it to the side so that when his tongue slid against the seam of her lips he was able to lick into her the way he wanted to. It sent a zing of electricity all the way to her toes, and she could taste the mocha flavor of his coffee on his tongue as it mingled with hers.

She pressed her upper body closer to his, molding herself to the hard wall of his chest and trying to melt into him so that she never had to leave. She bit his bottom lip, tugging at it and digging in until he groaned and in three steps he had her back against the filing cabinet in front of the window. She let out a gasp of pain when a drawer handle dug into her shoulder blade but it was quickly forgotten when his tongue dipped inside her mouth again.

His palm slid down the center seam at the back of her shorts and her new hight made it easier for his hand to keep sliding past the curve, deeper between her thighs and she felt fingers press upwards, making her moan at the pressure. She clutched the collar of his shirt as she tilted her hips backward without a thought, needing to be closer to the pressure he was offering.

“Fuck, Stiles.”

“Yes, lets do that. Let’s fuck Stiles.” She nodded against his mouth, pulling him as close as she could, hating that they had so many layers of clothing between them still.

Derek was an inferno of heat against her and she couldn’t help the desperate pants that escaped her mouth between kisses, she could imagine him pulling her over to the counter and doing just as she kept taunting him to do, in all honestly wishing he would do to her and it made her body buzz with it.

In one swift motion Derek’s body went from pressing her hard against the metal filing cabinet to completely gone faster than her brain could register. She flailed helplessly for a moment at the whiplash of it, her body getting a shiver from the cold absence of his touch. When she stared at him in confusion, wondering how the hell he’d gotten so far away so fast, watched as he was angled towards the wall and tried to adjust himself quickly before wiping his hand over his mouth.

She was about to ask him what the hell happened when the tiny twinkle of bells brought her back to where they where and how easily it could have been for someone to catch them in a compromising position. Forget the fact that she was under aged, this was Derek’s business!

He shot her a weak look before he said hello to the customer, an elderly woman who barely paid either of them any mind as she moved towards whatever section she had in mind.

Derek waited until the woman was out of view before stepping a little closer to Stiles, his voice dropped to a hushed tone. “Sorry, I barely even registered someone was coming before she came in.”

Stiles nodded, her heart pounding away in her chest both from the way they had been tangled up and how close they had been to getting caught in that position. “I should go anyway, dad will seriously come looking soon. Maybe I can call you later?”

Derek nodded, made an abortive move that had Stiles thinking he might have tried to kiss her again before he thought better of it. “It might be better to talk over the phone than face to face anyway.”

Oh yeah, she’d forgotten he had wanted to have a serious conversation. She nodded and gave him a little wave before she started to head out of the store.

“Wait, Stiles.” Derek was coming around the counter, scooping her flannel shirt off the counter where she had forgotten it hours ago.

She thanked him as she took it and then realized it felt heavier than she was used to. Frowning at it she unrolled the shirt to find Derek’s black shirt, the one he had taken back from her that morning. She grinned at him, pressing the fabric to her nose as she breathed deeply.

Stiles didn’t miss the way Derek tracked her movements, the way his nose flared as he watched her enjoying his scent the way he often enjoyed hers. She gave him a wink before she opened the door again and headed out to her Jeep.

* * *

”What are you doing here Stiles?” The way Derek was frowning at her, hand on the the front door of his house, made her second guess her decision to just show up unannounced.

“My dad got called into work, some big mess that required his attention, I figured why stay at home by myself.” Stiles started to get an uneasy feeling. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Babe,” Derek rolled his eyes and stepped back, using his free hand to wave her inside.

Once Derek shut the door, she could smell that he was cooking dinner. “What are you making?”

“Nothing special, just cooking up chicken breast and some vegetables. Want some?” Derek moved over to the stove again, pushing food around on the hot pans.

Stiles shrugged, dropping her backpack onto the floor by the door and toeing off the flip flops she had put on after her visit home before following him around the kitchen island to get a closer look at what he was making. “Smells good.”

Derek hummed in response, moving to pull an extra plate and cup from the cabinet, setting it next to his own.

She gave him a little extra room to move around, backing up to the island and pushing herself on top to sit and watch him cook. Gone were the clothes he’d been wearing she last saw him, instead he was wearing a heather grey tank top and a pair of track shorts, his feet bare on the rug in front of the stove.

She had to admit, she liked the view, his shoulders and arms bare and the fabric of the track pants clinging to the curve of his ass. She leaned back on the island, her feet crossing and tucking under her legs. She let herself imagine Derek standing there wearing nothing at all, wondering what he would think of an idea like that. Maybe a little apron if he was worried about grease splatter.

“You have got to get your mind of something other than whatever it is you’re thinking about. I’m going to end up burning myself.” Derek, shook his head but wasn’t going to let himself be deterred from keeping an eye on the food so it wouldn’t burn.

Stiles gave an exaggerated sigh, “Fine, Sourwolf. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Derek did tense a little at the reminder but eventually nodded. “That is sort of not thinking about something else, though I doubt this will be an enjoyable conversation.”

“What did you think I was thinking about? Because I was picturing you naked.”

Derek paused to stare at her, chicken breast poised in the air on its way to a plate. “Seriously, you’re dangerous.

Stiles couldn’t even pretend that she didn’t enjoy those moments when Derek’s brain seemed to come to a sputtering hault over something she said. Especially something sexual - which let’s face it, was most things.

“So, does what you wanted to talk about refer to you being naked, or something else?”

Derek resumed filling their plates and turning off the stove tops before he responded to her. He turned towards her, pulling her feet until they were hanging off the edge the island top. He then pulled her thighs until they were hugging his hips and she was barely seated, her hands surged forward and wrapped around his neck automatically.

His fingers found the hem of her top and didn’t stop moving under the fabric until they had started setting fire to her bare skin. His lips barely brushed against hers, more moist heat than actual contact before he was tilting his head down, resting his forehead just under her collarbone. His fingers continued to flex against her skin, warming her and making little goosebumps rise and fall in their wake.

“What’s wrong, Sourwolf?” Stiles ran her fingers through his hair, loving the soft feel of it and how it slightly curled against the nape of his neck.

“I just don’t want to fight,” He sounded tired already, like they’d already gone several rounds and he was feeling defeated. Or unhappily victorious.

“So let’s not fight, we can talk about it, whatever it is. I just want to be here for you.” She slid her hands under his chin, forcing him to look up at her. “Talk to me.”

Derek sighed, this time softly pressing his lips against hers before sliding her off of the counter top, not lifting away until he had her feet planted firmly on the ground.

“Let’s eat and then we can talk about it, alright?”

She nodded, lifting up to kiss him again before letting him move back. He grabbed both of their plates, moving them over to the small ‘kitchen table’ which was little more than a card table set off to the side of the island. Clearly not a permanent fixture in his renovating plans. There was a single folding chair next to it and after Derek set their plates down he walked over to where a couple where leaning against a nearby wall to grab another.

Stiles filled their glasses with water and on her second guess, found a drawer with flatware. She brought her bundle over to the table and moved the chair Derek had set up opposite of him until it was more adjacent. Derek raised a brow but looked privately pleased that she wanted to be closer to him.

Once they were both seated and starting on their food, Derek judged her foot with his own. “Was your dad pissed at you?”

Stiles shrugged, “A little, but no more than usual.” She laughed to herself thinking about her conversation with her dad. “He asked me how far I got with my project last night.”

Derek groaned and gave her a disturbed look as he chewed some of his food. “That was a horrible euphemism by the way.”

Stiles laughed again, “I don’t know, I thought it was pretty good until he told me not to half-ass it. Then it got a little weird.”

Derek huffed a laugh under his breath. “So what did you tell him?”

“I told him that I wanted to go over some things, just to make sure I did a good job. But I said that I was pretty sure I aced it.”

Derek looked at her like she had lost her mind, but he was laughing, genuinely laughing so she thought that counted for something.

“I like your laugh,” She dipped her water between bites and enjoyed the way the compliment made him dip his head, like he was embarrassed to be noticed.

“Yours is better.”

Stiles scoffed at that but liked that he thought so. They finished their meal in contented quite after that, Derek standing to put their dirty plates and flatware in the sink before sitting back down next to her.

“So is this another revelation?” Stiles felt nervous again all of the sudden, trying to imagine what other starteling skeletons Derek could have been living with all these years.

“Not so much a revelation as it is an elephant in the room.”

Stiles could feel her brows reach for her hairline. “Elephant in the room?” She searches her thoughts for what he could mean, then it suddenly dawned on her. “You mean the new moon at the end of this month.”

Derek nodded grimly.

Stiles felt much brighter knowing it was this and not something actually bad. “Oh I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it, I have some ideas that I think could really be worth trying. Like-“

“No,” Derek cut her off with the single word, looking at an imaginary spot on the vinyl of the card table.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not going to put you in danger. I know you don’t like the idea, hell I don’t like the idea, but I can’t risk your safety.”

“Fuck that shit,” Stiles tone was hard edged. “Do you actually expect me to be okay with you fucking some other girl? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

She always thought that was the dumbest saying, because what the hell were you supposed to do with cake if not eat it? And damn, did she remember to take her Adderall?

Derek sighed and pintched the bridge of his nose. “I know, babe, I’m sorry. I just know how hard it is for me to control myself around you as it is, I can’t even imagine how hard it’s going be in a few more days. I can’t risk it.”

Stiles was shaking she was so pissed off, her whole body felt like it might just shake apart. She clenched her hands into fits on the table and tried to remember how to breath. “How could you be such an incredible asshole? You made me think there was something between us, that I was something special. All the while you never ever belived that.”

“What are you talking about? Of course you’re special, you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.” Derek touched one of her fisted hands and she jerked away like she’d been touched by white fire.

“Bullshit,” Stiles glared at him. “Bull. _Fucking_. Shit.”

“Stiles, please, try to see where I’m coming from here.”

“Oh I see alright, I see you clearly. You think I’m some stupid little girl who can’t recognize that one) - unless you left out some very specific detail about these whores you’re seeing - they are also human like me,” Stiles didn’t stop when Derek flintched at the word whores, but just kept plowing through.

“And two) as far as I can tell, you never killed any of them while fucking on the most unholy of nights where you can’t keep your damn claws to yourself.” Stiles tried to breathe through her nose because she felt the familiar burn of a panic attack coming on. “Right? _Right?_ ”

Derek stared at her with his intense hunter green eyes and she wasn’t even sure he blinked during her entire rant, wasn’t sure he was breathing either. Finally, he nodded. “Right.”

“So what the hell makes them any stronger than me?” Her voice cracked at the word stronger and she hated herself for showing any fragility when they were talking about how she couldn’t seem to add up to what he needed.

“You are so much stronger than any of those women, that isn’t what I’m saying.” Derek reached out for her fisted hand again, wouldn’t let her pull it from his grasp this time. He enveloped it in both of his larger and warmer hands and it made her even madder to realize that it was more soothing than she wanted it to be.

“They get off on pain, so if I hurt them, it doesn’t have to bother me. But you aren’t like that, you are so much better than they are and you don’t deserve to be hurt. I, especially, don’t want to be the reason you’re hurt.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to me right now? I don’t think you could slice me open from top to bottom _with your teeth_ and hurt me any more than you’re doing right now.” Stiles roughly brushed a stray tear from her cheek, turning her face away because she didn’t want him to see how much it hurt for him to think she couldn’t withstand anything he could throw at her. That he wouldn’t even give her a chance to try to show him how strong she could be.

“I’m sorry, Stiles,” Derek was on his knees, pushing the flimsy little folding chair she was sitting on around until he was in front of her. Her knees parted without her permission and he was bracketing her hips with his hands, not holding her in place but just touching her. “I want to keep you safe, but I don’t want loose you in the process.”

Stiles stared down into his eyes and tried to calm her breathing down, tried to focus on the warmth of his body near hers so that she didn’t loose herself to the anxiety burning in her chest.

“So don’t. Don’t throw this away Derek, please. Give me a chance?”

Derek looked so uncertain, almost scared, which was something she never imagined someone so powerful looking could ever project. He gave her a single nod and whispered, “Okay.”

She was pulling him to her then, her mouth capturing his and kissing him with all the fevered rage and anguish that burned in the back of her throat. She gave a choked out sob against his lips when his tongue pressed against her mouth, letting him lay claim to her once again. Her fingers fisted in his hair, pulling tight enough to extract a groan.

His mouth slid to her neck, peppering open mouthed kisses and broken apologies against her skin. Stiles pushed him back, quickly pulling the hem of her tank top over head and letting it drop behind her onto the floor. Before it even hit the ground, Derek’s mouth was pressing against her newly exposed skin. His tongue and teeth made exquisitely quick work of making her pale flesh pink and flushed.

His fingers curled under the straps of her bra, pulling them off of her shoulders until the cups of her bra were bunching under her breasts and propping them up for his eyes to feast on. His head dipped down to one breast, tongue sliding gently against the pink skin around her nipple. He commented absently about how it felt like velvet against his tongue before licking it again. His lips finally sealed around her nipple and thoroughly sucked and nipped with his teeth against the tender bud.

He his other hand cupped and lifted the opposite breast, making sure not to completely neglect it as he continued to tongue and tease on the breast between his lips. His hand gripped her firmly, slowly pulling along the full form of her breast until only his thumb and forefinger tugged at her, but never quite touching her nipple there.

Both sets of actions made her breasts tingle with sensations that were both so similar and so different. One being enveloped in heat and touch, the other being deliciously taunted but not giving into what she really wants.

Derek’s finger made lazy circles on the velvet skin around her nipple, the motions giving her the notion that he would touch her there soon, but it was making her body buzz with the anticipation. His mouth working of it’s own volition on her other breast, flicking his tongue up and down against the bud until she whimpered and arched into his touch. He soothed the flesh that was quickly becoming overwhelmingly sensitive by pressing his tongue flat against her nipple, the pressure and wet warmth welcoming.

When Derek finally stopped teasing her other breast, finger finally flicking over the nipple there, she nearly came out of her chair with the zing it sent down her spine. She let her head fall back and moaned into the quite of the kitchen. Her back and thighs were already starting to shake from holding herself so taut and still, trying to focus on what he was doing to her.

And when had she started pushing up onto her tiptoes? She didn’t remember but she ached at the back of her calf’s and she needed more of everything that he was doing to her.

She finally dug her fingers into his hair, gripping as tightly as she was trying to hold herself together. “Upstairs, now Derek. I need you in bed now.”

Derek’s hands slid under her ass and lifted them both up as if she weighed nothing at all and her ankles automatically locked around his back, her mouth finding the corded muscles in his neck. She could feel the vibrations of his growl when she bit under the hinge of his jaw and she felt him taking the stairs to his room two at a time. If she wasn’t so focused on the fact that they were both wearing too many clothes and far too vertical for her liking, she would be impresssd by his agility. Maybe later she could be properly impressed, but not right now.

Once they were in his room, he unceremoniously dropped her onto his bed and from her sprawled position she could see how thoroughly the last several minutes had effected him. She got a brief flash of his ruby red eyes before he was squeezing them shut, his breath sounding labored as he sucked in several drags of air through his nose. His fits were clenched, bare knuckles white with the tension. She could see the barest hint of pearly white fangs pushing at the seam of his lips. He was trying to control his body’s urge to shift.

“Wait, I want to see,” She twisted and shifted her body until she stood on the mattress, it’s constant dipping under her feet making difficult for her to do so with any kind of grace. Derek’s hands immediately moved to steady her, hands cupped around the backs of her thighs.

“Open your eyes, Derek.” She tried to reach for his face, the still fallen straps of her bra blocking her range of motion and she gave a grunt of frustration before reaching behind herself to unhook it. She shrugged out of the offending undergarment before tossing it onto the ground.

Derek’s gaze raked over her completely bare torso and the ruby eyes gleamed brighter for a long moment. He swallowed deeply and she could feel the prick of claws at the back of her thighs. He was struggling to keep the wolf in check.

“I love the color of your eyes, Derek. Both the green and the red. They are like emeralds and then rubies.” Her thrumbs swept under the soft skin just below his eyes, watching the way the color seemed to glow all on its own, without any need for light reflecting into them.

Derek opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out and he just looked pained. So Stiles did what she always did - she talked.

“They make me feel powerful, every time you show them to me. When I can do something that makes you flash them even for a second because I know how hard you’re trying to keep it locked down. To control the wolf’s needs inside you. When that resolve cracks for even a second because of me, god I feel so strong then.”

Instead of waiting for Derek to figure out what he wanted to say, Stiles dipped her head, lips gently grazing against Derek’s parted mouth. She could feel the foreign pressure of the elongated canines pressing underneath his upper lip. Her tongue snaked out, curling behind one fang before carefully but curiously mapping the pointed shape of it. She licked across all of his teeth, feeling the contrasted low and blunt human teeth with the pointed wolf additions.

She had been too distracted to notice before, but even on his lower jaw he had fangs protruding upward from the blunt row of human teeth. They were not as long as his upper teeth, but it was a pleasant surprise when she descoverd then during her exploration.

Derek growled against her lips, his tongue was warm against hers and it took no time at all before he was licking his way into her mouth and his claws were definitely going to leave shallow puncture marks on her thighs. Good, she needed some kind of proof this was real and she wasn’t going to wake up tomorrow wondering if it really happened.

“Can you - can you stay like this?” Stiles searches Derek’s face, her hands smoothed over the muscles of his shoulders, feeling them bunch and flex under the new layer of glossy fur that had covered them. “You know it’s really unfair that you’re gorgeous as a human and a wolf. One of your forms should be ugly as hell because that’s just ridiculous.”

Derek kissed her hard then, the elongated muzzle of his nose pressing into her cheek and while she thought she should probably be recoiling at the thought of asking to be fucked by what is essentially an actual wolf, that was the exact opposite of what she was feeling. Because this wasn’t some wild animal, it was Derek.and Stiles wanted him no matter what form he took on.

“I don’t know if I can control it like this, I don’t want to hurt you.” His lips brushed against hers as he spoke, not fully leaving their intimate embrace, before he was kissing her again. She felt the bite of his fangs against her lips and it sent a shiver down the entire length of her spine.

She pushed his shoulder back enough so that she could glare at him. “We are in the process of having makeup sex, don’t ruin it by treating me like a china doll. I’m not scared Derek.”

“I know, but you should be. I don’t want you to be afraid of me, but I’m afraid of myself.” He sounded like he’d been mortally wounded by the confession. “The fact that you’re so unafraid of me, makes it even scarier. Because if I actually lost control, you’d never see it coming and I-“ His words stuttered his mouth for a minute and he licked his lips before continuing. “I don’t want to see you change into someone who is afraid of me, of someone who can’t trust me or even begin to hate me.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathed his name, her mind blank for how to respond to such a heartbreaking statement. “You’re an idiot.”

Derek’s brow rose up, confusion and possibly mild amusement covering over what was anguish and maybe even self disgust.

“Even if you lost control - which I don’t believe you would - but I’ll play devil’s advocate for a second because you won’t leave it alone. If you actually lost control, I wouldn’t hate you. I would expect you to bandage me up, baby me until I got all better. Because I will never not need you.”

Derek’s eyes searched hers and she hoped that he didn’t misread the wild beating of her heart for doubt or fear because it wasn’t rabbiting for any of those reasons. He made her heart shift into overtime every time his eyes connected with hers and she felt a burst of adrenaline when he touched her or trusted her with something so obviously precious in his mind, something he no doubt didn’t tell anyone else.

“Now you’re the idiot.” But it was spoken with reverence and awe. “What if I can’t patch you up?”

Stiles gave him a sly smirk, “Then it had better have been the best sex I ever had, so that at least it was worth it.”

Derek wasn’t amused at her attempt at jokes, the smirk and amusement gone from his face. “Babe-“

“Okay, I’m sorry. It was just a joke. I can’t predict the future Derek, neither can you. We can spend our whole lives twiddling our thumbs because what may or may not happen. Or we can just deal with it as it comes. I personally prefer the second option, especially since we are already half naked and I kind of want your hands on me. Like fingers already inside me and half way to a climax kind of want.”

Derek growled again, his eyes blazing before his hands were leaving her thighs and reaching for the button and zipper of her shorts. Stiles held onto his shoulders as he pushed the denim and the cotton of her underwear off in one motion, using his stable form to keep herself upright while she stepped out of them.

“Now you.”

He didn’t waist any time ridding himself of his sweatpants and boxer breifts as she moved away from him towards the head of the bed and dropped down by his pillows. His erection was already half hard and she could see it jerk slightly when she sprawled out, legs slightly parting in invitation for him to come to her.

When Derek’s knee hit the bed, the mattress tipped a little, giving under his weight. He looked nothing short of a wild wolf as he stalked towards her on his hands and knees, predator stalking it’s prey. There wasn’t any doubt in his eyes now, only hunger and it made Stiles moan audibly as she shifted against the pillows, fingers digging into the comforter below her.

“God I probably shouldn’t think that you look this hot right now. Like you look like you could just eat me in one bite and fuck it would feel so good I just know it.”

Derek hovered just over her thighs, eyes glowing red as he raked them over her body. He lightly ran the claws of one hand over the sensitive inside of her thigh, past her knee until he couldn’t reach down any further before dragging them back upward in a featherlight touch. It was something so contrasting to how menacing the claws looked, made for hurting and killing but instead giving her delicious chills up and down her thighs.

She arched into the air, needing more but biting her lip against asking for it. She didn’t want to rush Derek or push him further than he felt comfortable, because while it wasn’t their first time, this was a different kind of first between them.

He pressed the palm of his hand against the warmth between her legs and she lifted her head off the pillow to better see him. It was probably the sexiest thing she’d ever seen and she wished she’d had a camera. With his palm pressed against her, his fingers and claws were curled against her body in a way that was completely possessive.

Stiles felt like she was looking at a poster scene for a really cheesy porn plot for people who were into flirting with the line of something not strictly accepted in most kink circles. With Derek between her knees looking more wolf than man and his human fingers giving way to decidedly not human claws that flexed against her intimate skin. His eyes glowed bright red and his parted lips showed more teeth than should be sexy. But fuck it was so sexy.

“You look like you’re staking claim on my vagina there, Derek.” As Stiles said the words she watched the bright gleam of red in Derek’s eyes turn darker, more blood the ruby. “Fuck that’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?”

Derek didn’t so much respond with words but actions. One finger curling down, knuckle pressing between the soft lips of her most intimate parts to find her clit, avoiding using the now dangerous tips of his fingers to press in on it until she was arching under the touch. With the more wolfish features of his shift taking over the natural human ones, Derek looked down right predatorial.

“Damn, Derek, say it.” She lost her breath for a moment as the knuckle started to rock slow circles against her. “I want to hear you say it’s yours, that _I’m yours_. If you want to claim me, you have to say it.” She stared down at him, daring him to say the words, to take the leap of faith that she would let it stand.

When he did finally find the words, they came out on a growl that was something much more animal than she’d heard from him before, almost a snarl that went straight up her spine.

“Mine,” he emphasized the word with curling his claws into the skin just above where his knuckle was rolling her clit in the opposite direction, just to make her squirm. “Your mine. Head to toe, mine.”

“Fuck yeah,” Stiles dug her fingers into Derek’s hair, gripping and pulling him upwards. He removed his hand from its claiming spot and allowed himself to be pulled over her. His hands bracketed her shoulders, keeping his weight off of her body, but he hovered close enough that she could feel his hard penis grazing the skin of her lower abdomen. The sound of claws scratching against the cotton fabric of his pillows sounded almost deafening in her ears.

“And your mine, Derek Hale. I may not be half wolf, but I would rather gut you than let you be like this with another woman.” She quickly removed one hand from his hair, gripping his penis at the base to give it a firm tug once. She grabbed at one of his hands with her other free one, pressing fingers against pulse point of her neck, feeling the scratch of his claws against her skin. She knew he didn't need to touch her pulse to feel the truth in the statement, to scent her honesty but she wanted to make sure he couldn't try and deny it later, that maybe she didn't mean it. "Do you hear me?"

He rocked against her hand and when she slid down the length again, nodding and breathing deep through his nose. After lining him up, she used his forward momentum to push him inside of her. His forehead dropped against hers and he groaned at the unexpected move, her body enveloping him in hot wet heat.

“You’re mine. I’m yours, okay?” She whispered the words between them, feeling him take over and sink completely inside her until his pelvis touched hers.

He nodded again, his mouth tipping inward to let their lips graze over each other. “I’m yours.” He whispered back before he started to pull out, stopping when just the head of his penis was still inside of her. She lifted her legs up high, curling her calfs around his rib cage so that he could sink further inside her on his inward thrust.

“I hope this never gets old, because it just feels so damn good.” Stiles moaned against his jaw, teeth scraping against his stubble and he ground out something similar to an agreement as he slid out of her again, tilting his hips to get a better angle on his accent.

It only took a couple more slow thrusts before Derek seemed to be satisfied that Stiles was aroused enough to not hurt her, before he picked up the pace, setting a much more aggressive rhythm. The sound of skin slapping, heavy pants and groans filled the otherwise silent room and Stiles could feel the familiar tingle of an orgasm in the background of all the pleasure Derek was assaulting her with.

“Derek?” Stiles breathed his name, his response coming more in a grunt and his head turning into her neck to breathe in her scent and lick up the pale skin. She moaned back, forgetting for a moment what she wanted to ask him. She tilted her head back, letting him work his mouth and tongue magic over every inch of exposed flesh. She knew her skin would be reddened from his detailed attention but she couldn’t find it in herself to care at the moment.

He shifted to one hand, the other holding her hip in place as he sought for a specific angle, his thrusts hitting hard enough to bang against her sensitive clit every time. It had her seeing stars with each point of impact, her nails digging into his biceps and she couldn’t breath for several moments.

“Yes. Yes. Please. Derek.” Her pleading words came after each thrust, after each explosion of pleasure in her mind. “So close. Harder. Come on, Sourwolf. Show me I’m yours. Make me come.” She didn’t exactly plan on dirty talk, it all just came spilling out but fortunately it seemed to work for Derek.

He growled deep in his throat before baring down on her with renewed zeal. Thrusting at a wild pace that had her body inching closer and closer to the headboard. She pressed her hands above her head, gripping the wooden rails for purchase as he pushed her closer and closer to her orgasm.

“Oh shit, shit,” The waves of her coming orgasm pounded down on her, threatened to drown her in it, before it finally crashed over her and she felt everything around her white out for a solid moment. She abstractly felt Derek continue his punishing rhythm and it only aided the lasting ripples of her orgasm to rise up new waves of pleasure again and again for several moments.

She felt her body relax after a moment, back finding the matteress when she hadn’t even realized she had arched off of it. “Fuck that was so good.”

Derek was starting to sweat over her and she wondered how long he could really last, especially since his body was reacting to not being surprised by necessary drugs.

“Come on Derek, don’t hold back.” She leaned up and bit hard at the column of his neck. He growled, louder and more fierce like before but it only served to send a shiver of thrill up her spine. “Have you heard of edging, Sourwolf?”

Derek made a wounded sound, but she could feel the carefully controlled rhythm start to buck and stutter before he could get it back on track. He was getting closer and closer.

“I want to try that with you.” He barely shook his head no before he moaned, thrusts stuttering again and his forehead on her shoulder. “Before you say no, hear me out. I know you worry about losing control but it’s all about control.”

His next growl sounded more annoyed than as a result of being turned on. “Stiles, shut up.”

“First of all, rude.” She couldn’t help the moan that slipped from her lips, his hips finding a new angle that sent a zing of pleasure throughout her body. “Second, edging is _about_ control. You have to keep yourself from coming, and when I touch you with my fingers and my mouth-“ That got the kind of moan she wanted to hear, one that said she had his attention in the way she wanted it. “You get to decide how long we go on, but the longer you can make yourself hold out the better it will feel.”

Derek’s thrusts came without any sort of rhythm now until finally he gave an aborted thrust and then pushed hard inside of her and held still as his whole body shook. She rubbed hands over his back, whispering mindless words of affection as she felt him trying to collect himself again. After a long moment she felt the fur start to give way to sweat covered skin and reached for the hand that had clutched her hip to find that the claws were receding to blunt nails.

After several moments of Derek holding her hand, forehead pressed against her shoulder and body trembling, he finally slid out of her rolled onto his back. His chest rose and fell quickly as his tried to catch his breat. He slung an arm over his face and welcomed Stiles crawling against his body with his other arm curling around her waist.

“Shit, that was-“

“Awesome? Mind blowing? Earth shattering?” Stiles supplied a list of possible endings to Derek’s open ended statement. She grinned at the last, remembering it was a phrase he used before.

He clearly remembered it too, lifting his arm enough to give her a leveling gaze.

Stiles just shrugged, feigning ignorance. “What? I’m just trying to help. You got awfully non-verbal so I have to assume it was better than ‘good’.”

Derek gave a suppressed laugh before covering his eyes again. “Yes, it was definitely better than good. I was going to say that was intense.”

“Intense?”

Derek nodded, his breathing starting to return to normal. “The senses take on a different order of priority when I'm shifted. As a human, sex is more touch with smell, sounds, sight, taste, all being secondary. When I’m shifted, scent and sight almost become one. I can almost see your scent around you, and see it more clearly on specific parts of your body like your neck. It's like they are first, touch is second but barely. All my senses are turned up to the maximum levels when I’m shifted and it’s very hard to focus on one sense at a time.”

“Shit, no wonder you couldn’t talk.”

Derek slid his hand behind his head and used it as a pillow, smirk playing on his lips. “You are one to talk about going non-verbal.” He chuckled at some secret insight about her.

Stiles sat up enough to turn away and grab the edge of the comforter, pulling it over them both. “What are you talking about? I’m self aware enough to know I never stop talking. It’s kind of _my thing_.”

Derek smirked at her, full of affection. “I’ve noticed, but I like it.”

She made a noise of protest. “You told me to shut up, remember?”

“I was trying to focus on keeping my senses from driving me insane while I was inside you, and you were talking about wanting to keep me from coming as some kind of torture pleasure event. My brain was not okay with that in that moment.”

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh, his logic wasn’t hard to agree with. “Yeah, I suppose that wasn’t the greatest timing.”

Derek just rolled his eyes and pulled her closer to his side. "You always stop talking when you hit your orgasm."

"Really?"

He hummed his affirmative, his gaze met hers and held. "Even if I couldn't smell your release coming, the second you go non-verbal, I know that's it. Your body goes bow string taut, you arch so far back I'd be afraid you were going to snap in half if it wasn't hot as fuck. You always look like you're going to be a screamer, your mouth opens but nothing comes out."

"Shit, you're not paying attention to me at all, are you?" Stiles felt her body start humming under the detailed descriptions like he'd actually reached out and touched her. 

"Just a little," He grinned but his pupils were dilated and she knew he was easily picturing her like that.

She cleared her throat, looking down at his chest where her fingers danced idly. "So what do you think of my idea? Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow?”

Derek’s gaze cut to her and his jaw worked while he thought. “Is this like some kind of sexual checklist thing? Part of your fantasy to-do list?”

“No, it's not specifically on a list, I have been trying to think of ways to help your control issues this week so we can keep having sex without ending up in arguments." She ignored his eye roll and continued on, "I think it would actually be fun to try with you. Maybe we could start with just my hands and my mouth, and once you finally can’t take it anymore and have to come we can rest. Then we could try it again but with you inside of me, I don’t know about you but that sounds pretty hot to me. Of course all of that would happen after Sunday morning pancakes.”

Derek looked at her like his head was spinning. “What?”

“Which part of all that lost you?”

He frowned, “How did we go from a sex kink to pancakes?”

“Tomorrow is Sunday, Derek, it’s pancake day.” She said it as if it was completely obvious, because wasn’t it? Didn’t everyone have pancakes, bacon and watch cartoons on Sunday? She was convinced that only heathens ignored this very sacred tradition. She granted him a pass on the cartoons - which was honestly just going to be a temporary pass because they called it 'Sunday morning cartoons' for a reason! - because she knew he didn't have a television, but there was no real good excuse as to why he didn't have pancakes!

Derek just blinked at her, “Okay?”

“What part are you saying okay to? The edging or the pancakes?”

“Both?”

Stiles sat up, eyes wide with excitement. “Really? I can edge you?”

Derek sighed but agreed, “Maybe we should wait on that until after this week is over. I’m willing to try it with you, but I don’t think this close is a good idea.”

“But that’s why this is the perfect time! You said that you struggle with control this week. This is something that requires complete control! If you don’t keep yourself in check then our little ‘game’ of holding your orgasm at bay ends too soon and then isn’t very fun at all. So this would be a perfect sort of exercise to help you stay in control! With an obviously awesome sort of reward at the end! ” She couldn't begin to keep the excitement out of her voice, especially since she'd been thinking about it all day. She wouldn't make him if he didn't want to, but even though he'd originally said no, it wasn't with any kind of force so she didn't really feel bad about trying to talk him into it.

Derek regarded her quietly, not for the first time, she wished she could read his heartbeat and scent his emotions the way he can do with her. "Where in the hell did you even come up with this idea? Have you tried it on yourself before?"

Stiles knew it was probably a complete oxymoron to talk so boldly about wanting to do it to Derek and all of the pros of such an event only to blush in a virginal sort of way at the thought of talking to Derek about things she'd done in private before meeting him. "I have, a few times. Though I imagine it will be a lot more fun doing it with you."

Derek's eyes drifted over her body, eyes going dark during their travels and Stiles could picture him trying to imagine her naked and trying to prolong her orgasms until she couldn't take it another second. "I'd love to be the judge of that someday."

Stiles grinned, moving to straddle over his waist as she curled the blanket around them, laying over him until their faces were inches apart. "If you're going to be able to judge properly, then you need a point of reference."

He shook his head at her, glaring without heat. "Your brain is scary twisted."

She laughed, surprised at how easily it came right after such an intensely primal act between them. "You have no idea, Sourwolf. You've only scratched the surface."

His lips tipped up at the corners before he lifted his head to capture her mouth in a lazy but satisfying kiss. "I look forward to finding out exactly how deep that goes." His eyes dropped to her parted lips again before letting his head fall back onto his arm. His gaze roamed easily on her face, free hand sliding up her spine before curling around the back of her neck and letting his thumb trace along the hinge of her jaw. 

"Me too," She leaned into his touch, loving the warmth that she felt against his skin and how it safe she felt in the little blanket burrito they were tucked into. "So about those pancakes tomorrow, I take your utter confusion to mean you don't have the necessary ingredients here. Of course, I should have known that just by looking at your abs." She punctuated her point by running a hand down between them over the planes and ridges of his very well maintained physique. "These are not every Sunday is 'Sunday pancake-day' abs."

Derek's stomach dipped when her fingers made contact before she was sliding them back up and pressing herself against him again. He laughed at the statement. "No I don't have the ingredients, but I can go to the store and get them." He frowned a little at her then. "Does that mean you're staying the night?"

"Is that not okay?" She guessed she shouldn't have assumed he would be okay with her just assuming she would be allowed to sleep over.

"Of course it's okay with me, it's your dad that I'm pretty sure wouldn't be okay with it."

Stiles gave a dismissive shrug, "When he goes out on call, he will be gone all night. As long as I'm home before late afternoon, I'll still beat him home."

Derek seemed to relax a little under her, "We are defiantly playing with fire here babe."

"That doesn't sound like a complaint." She grinned, leaning down to lick a long stripe up the column of his neck.

"Just an observation."

"I have an observation," Stiles placed several wet kisses on his neck, sucking lightly as she licked at the skin there, enjoying the way his hand tightened around her neck. "You're all sticky from the way I made you sweat." She grinned against his neck when he chuckled. "I think we should get you into the shower before you go to the store."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really," She sat up from him, letting the blanket fall from around her shoulders and taking in the view of him naked and hungry eyes beneath her. She liked the way he seemed to be doing the same, his gaze sweeping up from where their bodies met to her eyes, hunter green nearly disappearing to black. "What do you say?"

"No arguments from me." Derek was sitting up before she could come up with a snarky remark, holding her against his chest as he tilted her head down to his. His tongue swept into her mouth easily, gliding along her tongue and coaxing a breathy sigh from her lips without much effort. He was already becoming a master at the ways she liked to be kissed, loving the fast brutal way they sometimes came together but this was what she preferred. Languid, almost love-drunk kind of kisses that stole her breath away without her even noticing until they came apart and she was dragging in greedy breaths for her aching lungs. 

"God, why do you have to be so good at everything? It's kind of annoying."

His grin said that he knew she meant otherwise. 

She rolled her eyes before sliding off of him and the bed, pulling at his hand until he was following her to the attached bathroom. It was a room she had only been in briefly before but never really looked around at. It was one of the few finished rooms in the house and it was honestly really well done. It had a masculine feel without being a 'bachelor pad' type of décor. The room had a very earth-tone color scheme with stone tile walls and floors. There was a balanced mixture of dark browns and blacks along with blues and golds. There was a double sink and an expansive mirror over them that took up the entire wall. While it had been nice for making sure that she had everything tucked into place the last time she'd been in this bathroom, it was a little unsettling to see her completely naked form without barrier this time around.

Derek squeezed her hand before releasing it and walking towards the shower, it was a more open concept shower than she'd ever been in before. There was a half wall of stone that created a barrier between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. A glass panel shoulder width wide from the ceiling to the half wall existed only right by the shower head, no doubt to keep the majority of random water splashing inside the unit. Derek stepped over the tiny threshold to turn the water on, adjusting the nozzle and the temperature until he was happy. She let herself enjoy the view of his long and toned naked form, all masculine and completely human again. He turned back to her, lifting a brow in question.

She didn't need him to say anything before she was joining him. It was a little awkward at first, finding how best to stand so that both could be sprayed by the water. Stiles tipped her head back, letting the water run over her scalp before she was lifting back up and running her hands over her head. She laughed when Derek got a face full of water splashing back from her short hair slinging droplets.

"Sorry, it's getting longer than I've been used to." She laughed again as she realized something else, "I've also never showered with someone else, so maybe that would still happen even if my hair was longer."

Derek huffed a laugh of his own, dipping his head down to press a small kiss to her lips before lifting away and reaching for shampoo he had tucking into a custom made cubie hole. The soft scent of soap filled the air and it wasn't the first time Stiles thought about how Derek must hate when people - girls especially - use overly perfumed body washes, perfumes, really anything. Derek's fingers rubbed gently over her scalp and she closed her eyes, smile on her face as she gave into the surprisingly domestic and therapeutic act of letting someone else wash her hair.

"Are you growing your hair out?"

Stiles swayed a little as Derek's deft fingers massaged at the back of her head. "I haven't decided yet. Mostly I just keep forgetting to cut it back down, but there have been definite times recently where I'd wished my hair had been a bit longer." She let her eyes open to slits, looking at Derek through her lashes as a lewd smile played on her lips.

Derek squeezed at the back of her neck before tipping her head back under the water. "You're impossible."

She grinned openly, "You like it."

"I do." The fact that he didn't even wait a beat to respond sent a visible shudder down Stiles' body. "Why do you cut it this short?"

Once Derek seemed satisfied that the shampoo had been rinsed out, he reached for another bottle in the cubie that was squirted into his hand. He turned her towards the shower head, his hand smoothing across her shoulders and she felt a shiver at the contrast of hot water at her front, cold shower gel being slicked across her skin and the warm natural heat of Derek's hands that followed. He started massaging and rubbing the soap into her skin with his hands and she was pretty sure she would be tuned into a big pile of mush before the hot water even had time to run out.

"Huh?"

Derek chuckled before repeating himself, his hands moving in firm steady lines up and down her arms. "Your hair."

"Oh, I started cutting it short years ago, when I was around nine. My mom got cancer and I was a kid, you know? I had no control, I didn't really understand what was happening. And my mom was like, beautiful, not like-all kids think their mom's are pretty, but mom was gorgeous. I wanted to look just like her when I grew up."

Stiles could feel Derek's hands slow as they worked over her body, but he didn't say anything and he didn't stop, which she was actually very grateful for. Anytime someone found out about her mom, they always plied her with a long list of 'we are so sorry', 'we understand how you feel', 'if you need anything, we are here', on and on. It was nice that Derek didn't try to fill the void with nonsense words that didn't make her feel any better. Nice words usually made her feel worse because now it felt like she pushed her misery on someone else, she made _them_ feel bad, which made her feel like she should never talk about how she felt.

"One day, I decided that if mom didn't want her hair anymore - obviously I didn't fully understand at the time why the medicine that was supposed to be making her better was actually making her hair fall out - then I didn't want my hair anymore." Stiles was pretty sure she heard a sort of amusement from Derek, but it was hard to tell because it might have just been his skin squeaking against the wet tile floor as he moved to kneel behind her, his hands pressing into her lower back, over her ass and started descending down one thigh.

She pressed her hands against the tile wall in front of her, if only to have someplace to put them. "I went into my parents bathroom one day, took out my dad's beard trimer and without any kind of ceremony whatsoever, I buzzed a line straight down my center part."

That was definitely a huff of laughter against her thigh as his hands worked their way up the opposite leg he'd been working on before. Stiles gave a laugh of her own, easily remembering what is one of her favorite memories. "By the time mom found me I looked like a creepy uncle that hugs you a little too long at parties."

"Babe," Derek gave another laugh before he was standing again, turning her so that the shower head could rinse off all the work he'd done. She watched as he poured more body gel into his hand before he turned back to her, his eyes were locked on hers as he pressed the cool gel along the front of her collar bone, much like he'd done when she was facing away from him. "You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to."

She shook her head, "I'd tell you eventually. It's okay."

He nodded, hands gentle as he massaged the gel onto her throat, her head tipping back and enjoying the attention before he was rubbing over her collar bone again and her shoulders.

"Mom had a great laugh too, she made everyone else laugh when she would start up. And when she walked into the bathroom she just burst into a hysterical fit of laughter that didn't stop for several minutes. Even then, she kept laughing as she helped me finish buzzing my head and clearing the mess. Dad, on the other hand, found it way less amusing."

Derek's smirk was soft, his eyes focusing on her body as he washed her, fingers and thumbs pausing when they found new moles or freckles as he worked his way down. "I can imagine that."

"So, when she died less than a year later, it kind of became a thing I did, to remember her. Every year, on the anniversary of her death, I would buzz my head. And eventually I just kept doing it."

Derek was on his knees in front of her, hands slowly making sure every inch of her had been touched and cared for, intimate in a way they hadn't been before now. He was quite while she spoke, focused on his task but she knew he was hearing her every word and the changes of inflection of her voice. She knew he paid more attention to her even with his senses divided than people who stared directly into her face ever did.

She watched as Derek rose to his full height, let herself be turned again so that her front was rinsed off by the hot water. "I hope you're not changing because you think I want you to."

She shook her head before facing him again, "I don't think that."

"Good, because I don't care what your hair looks like, especially if the style you choose means so much to you." His fingers brushed over the short hairs, his touch there almost too delicate, like he was afraid he might disturb something precious.

"Derek, look at me." She waited until his gaze met hers again. "It's not - I mean, it's an important memory to me. It always will be, but it's just taken me a long time to realize that I don't have to wear my hair a certain way just to keep that memory close to me." She gave him a reassuring smile. "It helps to tell that story to someone who lets me just tell it, who listens. Because I know you care, but you just listened."

Derek's smile stretched slowly as he nodded, his finger and thumb griping the edge of her chin gently as he bent down to kiss her. "It's a good memory." He kissed her again, "I bet you have your mom's laugh."

Stiles grinned at the thought, "Maybe, it's hard to tell those things, but I would be happy to think that." Stiles heaved a heavy breath, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off of her. "Wow, that was intense. I think if people started giving naked massages during therapy, people would be way more interested in going and feel way better after."

His laugh echoed off the tile walls, "Probably true, though I'm going to assume there are some serious ethical issues with a practice like that. Not to mention the creep-factor."

Stiles gave a grimace at the idea, nodding. "Yeah, probably true." She laughed again before insisting it was Derek's turn, shuffling him around until he was under the spray and nearly slipping on the soapy floor before Derek's arm shot out and caught her. He gave her a warning gaze, smirk on his lips as she laughed. "Yeah, my name isn't Grace for a reason."

He looked like he might ask her what her name actually was, and she honestly might have told him if he'd asked again, feeling safe and open in this moment. But he didn't ask, just smiled patiently at her instead and she let the moment pass, still feeling possessive of the sound of her mother's voice in her head.

She supposed that probably wasn't even the second oxymoron moment she had today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to add that I wrote the smexy scene TWICE because it didn’t save! :...( I am not sure if it was an AO3-thing or my internet-thing ... or both, but no matter what it was, I was not pleased to have to start it over again. :/ ok whine session over lol


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